PokerStars first to offer shared player pool in France, Spain

Poker players across France and Spain can now challenge and play each other at PokerStars, which today has become the first online operator approved to offer a shared player pool between the locally licensed poker markets. Poker fans from both countries will now be able to compete for bigger prize pools, amped-up guarantees and juicy promotions at the regulated online poker site, a big win for French and Spanish players.

"This will be great for players and great for the poker category," said Guy Templer, Chief Operating Officer of Stars Interactive Group, the gaming division of The Stars Group. "The French and Spanish regulators have done an excellent job in enabling a dramatic improvement in the gaming experience in their jurisdictions. Now French and Spanish players can access a larger player pool with bigger prizes, promotions and a better selection of games, all with the confidence provided by a trusted, licensed operator.

"Having a strong, competitive regulated offering — which comes from combining player pools — has proven to be attractive to consumers who might otherwise be choosing to play on unlicensed and potentially unsafe sites. We're looking forward to extending this to Italian and Portuguese players and offer our full support to the relevant authorities in those countries to do so. In particular, we would encourage Italy to resume their drive toward shared liquidity which after a good start has recently slowed considerably."

More tournaments, bigger prizes

To celebrate the coming together of French and Spanish tables, PokerStars is running a €5 million guaranteed France Espania Hold'em (FRESH) series, which will be exclusively available to players based in France and Spain, from 28 January to 11 February. Additional promotions surrounding this series include depositor freerolls, special Spin & Go FRESH Main Event qualifiers, second chance freerolls and even opportunities to qualify for free.

PokerStars players across France and Spain will also enjoy a revamped tournament offering with new daily tournaments featuring guarantees of up to €20,000. Existing daily and Sunday tournaments will now be able to offer bigger prizepools and guarantees, such as the €150,000 guaranteed Sunday Special.