France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal all have their own online poker networks, but users can only compete against players within their own country. This means that users often have trouble finding people to play with, and as this problem persists, revenue goes down.
To combat this problem, French online poker regulator ARJEL recently announced that the four countries will be signing a "player liquidity sharing agreement.” This new agreement will open the borders between the four countries with regards to online poker, allowing users to join a pool of players that includes all four countries.
This model is not a new concept. The UK is part of an international player pool that includes many other countries, and it’s no coincidence that online gambling revenue in the UK has increased dramatically over the last several years. Users in the UK never have a problem joining a game and finding others to play with.
While the EU and UK continue to work on improving their online gambling markets, the US is still trying to decide on how to deal with the issue of legality. Currently, US states have the right to legalize online gambling, and only three states (plus one territory) have chosen to do so: Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
