There is good news for poker fans in Belgium. PokerStars has collaborated with the Circus Groupe to launch the site www.pokerstars.be in Belgium. The world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars, recently announced that it has earned the license to operate its online poker room in Belgium. This makes it the first online poker site to obtain the official Casino de Namur A+ license from the Belgian Gaming Commission. The Belgian Gaming Commission had earlier, in 2011, given a license to PokerStars in its test phase, which can now fully operate its online poker room in the country.
Alliance between PokerStars and Circus Groupe
The world’s largest online poker room had joined hands with Circus Groupe back in October 2010, to bring the exciting world of online poker to Belgium. The partnership between Circus Group, which is a popular online casino and gaming service provider in Belgium, and PokerStars enabled Belgians to play the satellite tournaments on the PokerStars site to be eligible for international poker events. Because of the partnership, people in Belgium could find their way to bigger events like the European Poker Tour (EPT), World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP), Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) and PokerStars’ own Sunday Million tournaments
Thanks to the license for full operations, PokerStars would now be able to offer more than that to the residents of the country. Along with the satellites, PokerStars will be able to offer its regular online poker games and tournaments to the people of Belgium. Also, by offering the Casino de Namur A+ license to PokerStars, the Belgian Gaming Commission also hopes to get rid of the illegal online poker sites that are currently thriving on poker players’ money in the country.
Another PokerStars site
PokerStars.be will be one of the many licensed online poker rooms that are operated and managed by PokerStars. The PokerStars management, which has been trying to obtain online poker licenses in the newly regulated markets, is said to be delighted to partner with the Circus Groupe, to offer fully regulated services in Belgium. Prior to obtaining its license in Belgium, PokerStars has been successful in getting approval for full operations in Denmark, France, Italy and Estonia.
In October 2008, PokerStars launched PokerStars.it for Italian poker players, and in June 2010, it obtained a license for operating its PokerStars.fr website for French poker fans. The Danish PokerStars site, PokerStars.dk, was launched in January 2012, while the Estonian site PokerStars.ee was launched in October 2010. Apparently, PokerStars is aiming to extend its market further by obtaining more such licenses.
A new beginning
The teams at PokerStars and the Circus Groupe are more than happy to have obtained the Casino de Namur license, which authorizes them to offer real money online poker to Belgian poker lovers. PokerStars’ Head of Business development, Guy Templer, stated that the PokerStars team is very excited and eager to work with the Circus Groupe and the Belgian Gaming Commission to offer its top-notch online poker services in the country.
