Portugal to join shared liquidity pool this month

Portugal is set to join Spain and France in a shared liquidity compact this month, according to PokerStars CEO Rafi Ashkenazi.

The country published a new technical standards framework for shared liquidity back in February and will go live “this month, potentially very soon”, according to Ashkenazi.

The compact could boost poker revenues by 30-35%, the exec said – the uptick seen in France and Spain.

“The positive we see in France and Spain is really around increasing engagement,” Ashkenazi said.

“We have a bigger pool of players participating in tournaments and we can increase the options that we have.

“I have no doubt that [Portugal joining] will boost the revenues that we’re currently generating from the market, on the basis of everything that I explained before.”

The exec said Italy was not expected to join this year, but “hopefully early next year”.

“We are going to push quite aggressively for Italy because it will really boost the shared liquidity,” Ashkenazi said.

Elsewhere, the former Playtech COO said Netherlands and Sweden were more likely to join the .com liquidity pool than the closed European network.

“And from my perspective this is perfect, it is actually even preferred,” he added. “Between the four countries Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, it’s a very significant network. It’s definitely above the threshold that we need in order to continue building this magic cycle of continuously increasing engagement prices, tournaments and revenues.”

Stars’ Q1 poker revenues were up 2.3%cc, despite market withdrawals, most notably Australia.