Full Tilt launches dot.eu site
Brand joins fellow Rational Group company PokerStars in obtaining Malta licence.
Full Tilt Poker has launched its dot.eu site under a licence from the Maltese Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA).
The brand had launched under an Isle of Man licence last year after being acquired by PokerStars parent company Rational Group, with chairman Mark Scheinberg noting at the time that the group was also in talks with the Maltese regulator.
PokerStars launched its own dot.eu site in February last year after being awarded a licence by the LGA, with head of corporate communications Eric Hollreiser suggesting the Maltese authorisation would give the operator “The ability to provide enhanced service to players in several European markets.”
Players from several European Union countries were moved from the dot.com to the dot.eu client last year, including those from Germany and the Netherlands. The migration of player accounts from dot.com to dot.eu will begin today for players from Greece, Luxembourg and Slovenia.
A statement on the FullTiltPoker.eu site explains: “You will not be able to move to FullTiltPoker.eu if you are not a permanent resident of Finland, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia or Sweden.”
Full Tilt’s dot.com site went live in November, and currently ranks second (behind PokerStars) for real-money cash game traffic according to tracking site Pokerscout. Rational Group noted last July that it had no plans to launch the Full Tilt brand in the regulated territories of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy or Spain.
The launch of the new site is the first significant European development for Rational Group since the appointment of former Playtech chief operating officer Rafi Ashkenazi as group COO.