French Regulatory Agency ARJEL Suspends PokerStars Home Games

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ARJEL, the gaming regulatory agency for the French online poker market, has suspended PokerStars Home Games for players inside its country pending an investigation into whether the latest feature violates French law, according to eGaming Review and other outlets. An announcement on the French version of PokerStars, currently the seventh largest online poker operation in the industry according to PokerScout.com, informed French customers of the change earlier this week. On a translated version of the site, PokerStars.fr says, “The Regulatory Authority of Online Games (ARJEL) decided to make a system analysis of Home Games to be able to ensure compliance with French law.” There is no time frame given for the investigation by ARJEL, but PokerStars.fr states that the company is taking steps to maintain the Home Games setup if and when ARJEL completes its inquiry. “We apologize for this temporary inconvenience and appreciate your loyalty to PokerStars.fr. Home Games,” the announcement continues. “Home Games will be held in our existing database with all information they contain (members, history, statistics).” The move by ARJEL to look further into Home Games has caught its Team PokerStars French Pros by surprise. None of the group’s sponsored players – Vanessa Rousso, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Arnaud Mattern, Thomas Bichon, rugby player Sebastien Chabal, or tennis star Gael Monfils – has commented publicly on the situation. It also isn’t known what ARJEL is looking at to make sure the PokerStars Home Games are in compliance with French gaming laws. Although Home Games are temporarily suspended, PokerStars.fr assures its French players that all other gaming options are available for play. “You can still enjoy the most popular tournaments on the net,” the PokerStars.fr announcement states, “such as the Classico, the Sunday Special, or the famous Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), not to mention the incredible cash games.” Part of the issue may be in some aspects of the Home Games setup. Allowing players to set the stakes being played – instead of the site doing so – could be one of the tripping points under French law. The French online poker world has become one of the most vibrant since the introduction of legalization and regulation in 2010. Prior to that time, the French government prohibited its citizens from taking part in any online gaming enterprise except State-run options. This led to several organizations, including the World Poker Tour (WPT) and the PokerStars-backed European Poker Tour (EPT), pulling out of large land-based tournaments and led online companies to restrict French citizens from participating in their offerings. Last April, however, the French government rapidly reversed its course regarding online gaming and passed laws that would allow for online gaming companies to apply for licenses. The new laws named ARJEL as the regulatory authority of the French gaming industry. These new laws, in part, required that a special gaming site would be set up for French citizens only, among other things. In June, ARJEL released the first 30 licenses to online gaming companies in three areas of gaming: online poker, horse racing, and sports betting. After not being included in the first round of licensing, PokerStars restricted access to cash game play from French players in late June before receiving a license from ARJEL in early July. According to PokerScout.com, PokerStars.fr has a seven-day average of 2,850 cash game players and a peak of 5,695. The latest issue with the PokerStars Home Games, which were introduced last month and appear to have been well received, marks the first time that ARJEL has brought up questions about PokerStars’ conduct in the French market.