Danish and Spanish Online Poker Updates

There have been many changes in the legislations surrounding the world of online poker in Europe. Spain and Denmark are two of the countries that have been in the news lately regarding legislation

December 20 was the date that was set for Spain for online poker’s launch, but that deadline has came and went and online poker is yet to be played.  The deadline has passed for license applications for poker operators as well.  December 15 was the closing date for new licenses and over 50 did so.

PokerStars and PartyPoker are two of the sites that were thought to be ready to open for players in Spain, but since the dates have come and gone and the pages remain in limbo with ‘coming soon’ as the only news through the portals for players in Spain, it’s hard to say whether the poker websites are going to be operational in the near future.

Online real money poker games in Spain may not be available for at least three months
according to reports.  There is talk of expanding the licensing process until March 31, 2012 for a launch date of April 2012.  It also appears that the Spanish poker market will be segregated from players worldwide.  However, international players can register and play on the sites once they are operational.

Things are looking more optimistic in Denmark, where players are going to get the chance to play online through the thirty-eight licenses that have been approved for players. Some of the popular websites where Danish players are going to be able to deposit money and play real money poker games include PokerStars, Party Poker, 888 and Ongame. Danish players are going to have a great selection of poker games to choose from as long as they are able to pass the authentication system ‘Easy-ID’ to log into services like online banking.

Denmark also appears to be granting the sites a bit of leeway in regards to meeting regulations.  Operators are supposed to have player verification systems in place by the time they open in January.  However, the Danish Tax Authority SKAT announced last week that operators will have two months after the January launch to get their verification systems in place.

While things look promising in Denmark, one has to wonder if Spain is going to stifle out the online poker market or restrict it to the point that many sites end up losing interest.  Granted, with the prospect of an untapped market, many sites will put up with the extra hoops if it will mean a positive outcome in their bottom line.