After launching its Belgium site last week, Pokerstars announced today that its European site, Pokerstars.eu, has gone live – meaning Swedish and Finnish players can play against the worldwide PokerStars player base with extended benefits.
Combined with PokerStars’ recent announcement of a new license in Malta – the company insist these are “important steps” in moving forward and strengthening its experience and benefits across Europe. The Malta licence was PokerStars’ most recent addition after acquiring a licence in Denmark, meaning the company now has licenses in the European countries of: France, Italy, Belgium, Estonia, the Isle of Man and Matla.
Head of Corperate Communications at PokerStars, Eric Hollreiser, wrote in the site’s Corporate Blog last week that the new license and .eu site will allow for clarity in taxation of poker winnings. The launch also means that Swedish and Finnish players will now be contracting directly with a company officially based and licensed in a European Union member state. Moreover, the move ensures online poker winnings in Sweden and Finland are tax-free as they are won in the European Union under a license issued by a member state.
PokerStars’ issued statement said Swedish and Finish players should expect a PokerStars system update the next time they open the game software and will automatically begin transferring accounts, cash balances, and FPPs to the PokerStars.eu system.
In other Poker news, Gigi Gagne will attempt to make poker history today at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock. It’s the final day of the Main Event and if she manages to maintain the top spot; she’ll become the first woman to win an open Main Event at the WPT…ever.
It looks likely, as Gagne is currently the chip leader heading into the six-handed final table. She has lorded over a 2.7 million chip stack – that’s more than a million chips greater than that of both Day 2 and Day 1 leader Matt Juttelstad.
The event kicks off at 1pm EST today. Will Gagne make sweet valentine’s day love to the coveted WPT Main event trophy?
