PokerStars Receives Licenses to Offer Online Casino in Spain
According to the latest update published on Spain's Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOY) website, PokerStars' Spanish subsidiary REEL Spain, Plc recently secured two licenses to offer blackjack and roulette games in the country's regulated market.
The licenses, which were officially awarded to REEL Spain on June 12, came only few hours after Canadian gambling giant Amaya announced its intentions to buy the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker for $4.9 billion.
The launch of an online casino connected to PokerStars was announced by Amaya's CEO David Baazov during a conference call held on June 13.
Speaking about the importance for both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to diversify their revenue sources, Baazov explained that the newly created gambling group will focus most of its efforts to explore sectors as online betting, social gaming and online casino gambling.
"With the continuing trend of online gaming regulation around the world, the company has in front of itself an enormous opportunity to leverage its brand recognition and customer loyalty to diversify into other gaming verticals as casino, sports betting and social gaming," Baazov said.
"[Rational's] companies do not only have the ability to attract new players, but they are also able to offer popular tables and slot games to their millions of players using their poker platforms," Baazov continued, anticipating what many imagined would translate in Amaya adding new popular hits to the current casino games already available on Full Tilt Poker.
Yet, as Full Tilt Poker does not hold a license to operate within the Spanish regulated market, the two new licenses obtained by REEL Spain suggest that PokerStars.es could soon be the first PokerStars website to ever add non-poker games to its offer.
According to the latest market data, PokerStars.es is the first and most profitable operator in Spain as it controls around 75 percent of the country's regulated online poker market.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as more develops about the licenses to offer online casino gambling games in Spain obtained by PokerStars.es.
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