French Senate approves online poker liquidity sharing

The French online gambling market has received a major boost after the Senate approved international poker liquidity sharing in an amendment to the country’s new digital bill.

The amendment to the Law for a Digital Republic bill was passed unanimously by the Upper House of the French Parliament and allows the country’s gambling regulator to enter into poker liquidity agreements with other EU countries.

According to Article 41 of the bill, the amendment will allow French online poker operators with a verified account at a licensed operator to play with players registered with licensed operators in another EU state.

And the decision was welcomed by the gambling regulator l’Autorit? de regulation des jeux en ligne (ARJEL) which has been lobbying the government in recent months to approve liquidity sharing.

“ARJEL welcomes the adoption by the Senate of the sharing of poker liquidities with European countries presenting a high level of regulation,” the regulator said in a statement on social media.

The approval of liquidity sharing will hope to rectify the downward trajectory of the French online poker market which, according to the amendment, had suffered from players opting to use illegal sites with more attractive rewards and prizes.

Revenues from the vertical have been declining for a number of years now, and last year the sector reported a 4% year-on-year fall in GGR, down from ?241m (?183m) to ?232m (?176.2m).