Home / Poker News January 2014 / Meeting of European Gaming Regulators Yields No Significant Results
Meeting of European Gaming Regulators Yields No Significant Results
Posted by: Jo Martin - Mon, 2014-01-20 11:28
Gaming regulators from several European countries got together in Rome, Italy, on January 16-17, in an apparent bid to improve international cooperation in this matter. Representatives from the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Portugal were there, for discussions with Italy’s Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies. Needless to say, the European online poker industry and the players were hoping for some sort of a breakthrough in regards to shared liquidity, a solution more and more often brought up as a necessary one to insure the viability of the regulated markets.
Apparently, the meeting was merely aimed at improving the exchange of information among the regulators, including those referring to good practices, in order to facilitate the proper functioning of the Group of Experts on Gambling Service, an entity set up by the European Commission back in 2012.
The meeting was a cordial one, featuring a visit to SOGEI, Italy’s national IT company, and all sorts of talks on issues like the evolution of the various regulated markets and the exchange of data among these markets in order to produce comparable results across the board.
Protection against unlicensed operators and the deterrence of software suppliers from providing unlicensed operators with competitive solutions have also been discussed.
European shared liquidity, considered by many to be the 800 pound gorilla in the room, hasn’t been touched upon though. Despite the fact that France’s parliament has squarely voted against shared
online poker liquidity, the issue has remained firmly on the agenda for 2014. With France against it though, shared liquidity is now only likely to be started up by Spain and Italy. Depending on how well the experiment turns out though, other countries may later join the fray.
The scene of the next meeting of the European Gaming Regulators will be Germany.
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