PokerStars quietly quieted the newly regulated Colombian market after online gambling regulator Coljuegos last week blocked the top of a list of 325 unlicensed online gambling operators.
ON FRIDAY, THE ONLINE POKER ROOM INFORMED ITS LOCAL PLAYERS THROUGH MONDAY, JULY 17, AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY POKER WITH REAL MONEY.
PokerStars was one of the high-profile names mentioned on the blacklist, which was made public by Coljuegos in March. And it was at the end of June when Coljuegos issued the first license for the provision of online services; Local operator Aquila Global Group and its sports betting site Wplay.co became the first to receive the necessary approval to operate in Colombia's newly regulated gambling environment. (READ HERE: POKERSTARS THREATENS IN LATIN AMERICA)
In his message to Colombian players, PokerStars explained that he was leaving the market due to the new regulatory regime and the fact that he was not licensed to operate legally in the country. However, the operator indicated that he was interested in obtaining such a license, which means that he can return to Colombia when he is given the necessary approval.
"Dear Locoaiza, PokerStars will remove the option to play poker with real money to residents of Colombia as of Monday July 17 due to the license requirements in that country
PokerStars has debated, and will continue to debate, positively and proactively with Colombian government officials on this issue; We hope we can return to offer real money games in the future.
PokerStars wants to guarantee affected players that their funds are protected and available for withdrawal. Before making a withdrawal, remember to open the chests of stars rewards you have received so that they can be converted into the rewards included in those chests. We will also recommend that you spend your StarCoin balance at the rewards store; There you will find a cash refund of USD $ 1 in case you want to convert your StarsCoin into cash.
For more information about withdrawing real money games, including answers to any questions you may have, visit our FAQ page for all players who live in Colombia. No other service will be affected in all Latin America. "
It is important to remember with the outgoing country platform, about 47,168 registered users are left with no place to play of which on average 571 were active users of all events that the company PokerStars carried out and where real money was bet. Surely these users will move to other pages that work under an illegal framework filling these chests that do not drive the online gambling industry in Colombia.
