PokerStars Migrates Dot-EU Players to Dot-Com Website

PokerStars has recently announced a significant change, especially for its European players. This poker room has operated the dot-com and dot-EU platforms since 2001 and 2012, respectively, offering players from European countries an exclusive poker room. However, that will all change going forward.

The Start of the Dot-EU Site

The dot-com site originated from its base in the Isle of Man, where this brand first started as a private company. It operated with this small gaming licence using its dot-com website. However, that changed in 2012 when the brand acquired a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licence. It prompted the launch of their dot-EU platform, first exclusively available to players from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia.

As the site grew, it also opened its platform to markets like Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Norway, and others. The initial reason for launching a separate website for European countries was likely due to tax considerations.

Several countries require citizens to pay taxes on any gambling winnings, such as when they play poker if they win it at sites outside of the European Union (EU). With a licence from the gaming authority in Malta, which is in the EU, it was the ideal solution to avoid additional taxation.

Consolidating Players Under One Licence

As PokerStars grew, it started turning its MGA licence into the primary licence governing all its players. The company has been transitioning all users on its Isle of Man licence for the last five years to its MGA one.

This transfer means the dot-com and dot-EU platforms operate using the MGA licence. It renders the Isle of Man one obsolete and opens the avenue of combining their two websites without affecting the tax laws.

Migrating Players to Dot-Com Site

The brand recently announced that it will move all players on the dot-EU site to the dot-com site. This shift won’t be a singular move, as PokerStars is slowly migrating players in phases. The first movement of players occurred on December 7. These migration phases will continue until it consolidates all players on one site.

The brand states there’s no reason to keep the two separate sites. However, we believe it might be due to the costs of upkeep for the two individual websites, domains, and player pools. As such, combining them will be more cost-effective.

GGPoker’s Approach vs PokerStars

While PokerStars is moving ahead with consolidating its player base on these two platforms, GGPoker remains with its previous strategy. Like PokerStars, this global poker brand operates its dot-com site under an Isle of Man licence.

In contrast, the dot-EU operates under an MGA licence, previously a Curacao eGaming licence. However, the brand has yet to make any movement to consolidate its players under one licence as PokerStars did.

What to Expect Going Forward

With PokerStars consolidating these two platforms, European players should watch the site’s news. The shift is still ongoing currently. However, once completed, you can expect some subtle changes. This migration means the player pool will grow, with a more diverse group of players pitted against each other. How this will affect the cash game traffic and gameplay remains to be seen, so we’ll monitor the site’s progress.