The granting of the license clears up a number of issues around taxation which were unclear for players in several EU states. PokerStars now has operating licences in France, Italy, Estonia, Denmark and the Isle of Man, as well as Belgium and Malta. They are continuing to make applications in all jurisdictions that offer online gaming licenses in an attempt to uphold their transparent and co-operative image.Just two days after being granted a gaming license in Belgium.
Eric Hollreiser, Head of Corporate Communications at PokerStars said:, Pokerstars announced today that they’ve made a successful application for a license in Malta as a result of which they’re expected to launch new site PokerStars.eu as early as next week.
“Obtaining an online gaming license is an arduous task. It requires significant resources and a willingness to allow detailed scrutiny of company practices and procedures that examine an applicant’s credentials in important areas like integrity, security and attitudes to responsible gaming”
“We’re happy to submit to this, though, when there’s a clear benefit to players, the industry or our company. In particular, as far as our players are concerned, we believe that each new license we obtain underscores the reasons why they should feel comfortable playing with us. We don’t know of any company in our industry that has been licensed by as many jurisdictions as PokerStars.”
PokerStars’ efforts fly in the face of many of the recent scandals which have tarnished the online poker industry and as a result they have managed to maintain their traffic levels in the wake of Black Friday, which saw them lose a large chunk of their player base.
They continue to dominate the market, and are now more than five times bigger than closest rival Party Poker, when it comes to number of active players. Even if Full Tilt Poker does make a return, they will have their work cut out for them if they hope to come close to their former position, rivaling the traffic at PokerStars.
