Home / Poker News January 2012 / The Poker Grapevine – Spain Delays Online Poker Regulation
The Poker Grapevine – Spain Delays Online Poker Regulation
Posted by: James Carter. - Thu, 2012-01-05 14:37
As various European countries regulate and legalize their online poker markets, Spain has made the out-of-step move to delay regulation by 6 months, till June 30. The reason is a simple one: although the gambling law has been introduced in February 2011, with the aim of being finalized and applied by the end of the year once a licensing system was put in place, there were several snags hit along the way, which eventually made that timetable an impossible one to adhere to.
The bottom line is that the delay in regulation will allow Spanish online poker players to keep playing at international sites for 6 more months.
Even after regulation is achieved, unlike Belgian players, who will be forced to play at one of three sites, Spanish players will be able to choose from quite a few online poker destinations: apparently no fewer than 61 different operators have already applied for a license, among them GBT-owned Full Tilt Poker, but 888, PokerStars, bwin.party and Ladbrokes have also made it clear that they were interested.
In other news: John Duthie’s PokerStars contract expired at the end of December and the British poker pro best known for his brainchild, the EPT, has parted ways with the online poker giant. Duthie himself was the one to break the news to the community on a popular
poker forum. PokerStars have later confirmed it too.
Duthie had worked in television before venturing into poker. His most impressive achievement as a player came in 2000, when he won the Poker Million, taking home the $1.4 million top prize. He has forever etched his name into poker history in 2004, when he created the European Poker Tour.
The EPT has grown into the largest poker tour of the old continent and it’s currently in its 8th season. EPT events span no fewer than 10 countries and the 8th season features 12 stops.
