The European Commission (EC) has approved a technical standards paper submitted by the Portuguese gambling regulator – Serviços de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ) – that sets a technical standards framework in relation to the provision of iGaming services. Among other important things, the legal document also makes it possible for Portugal to enter online poker shared liquidity agreements with other European regulated markets.
Discussions about the creation of an international online poker network have been floating around for several years now.
The paper being reviewed by the EC meant that the country could not enter any shared liquidity agreements within a three-month standstill period. (READ SO WITH DELAY BUT FINALLY JOINT THE ONLINE POKER LIQUIDITY SHARING)
As the standstill period has expired and the EC has approved the paper, Portugal may now proceed with negotiating shared liquidity agreements. In other words, if such agreements are negotiated soon, regulators’ prognosis for ring-fenced markets merging their player pools by mid-2017 may be fulfilled.
