ARJEL is the online gambling regulator of France who is ready to begin sharing online poker liquidity with Italy. During the summer months, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain gambling regulatory groups decided that the four would merge player pools of online poker gaming to help improve traffic as a whole. It seems ARJEL is now checking in with other regulators to see when the player sharing can begin.
ARJEL Sharing Liquidity
It was reported by AssoPoker that ARJEL is looking to begin the shared liquidity by early next year. This was the time frame agreed upon when regulators first signed the agreement to work together. It is believed that France will be working with Portugal and Spain from early on next year and Italy will be ready to join the party later on in the year.
Italy seems a bit behind as they have yet to open the bidding process for operators who wish to review licensing and for those who want to get started in the industry. It was believed that the licensing process would begin back in September of this year, but that was not the case.
France wants to stick to the original timetable and begin offering shared player pools as soon as possible. Reportedly, the President of ARJEL, Charles Coppolani, has been in contact with the partner regulators to see where they stand on the implementation of the plan.
Network Of Shared Online Poker Player Liquidity
With several sources providing information, it seems that France will first work with Spain to create the network of shared online poker player liquidity and then Portugal will join in. Italy would, of course, be involved as well but later on down the road.
There has been an interest from French operators on becoming involved in the online poker process including Winamax, an online gambling operator in the region. The company is currently focused on expanding their footprint in the future to be able to be involved in the shared liquidity plans.