ARJEL, the French Gaming regulator, today announced that the four closed liquidity poker markets in Europe — Italy, France, Portugal and Spain — will sign an agreement on sharing online poker player pools next week.
The news, first highlighted on Twitter by Global Poker Index leader Alex Dreyfus, means that players in those four countries will likely be able to play against each other in due course.
Breaking News: The 6th of July, Gaming Regulators of Spain, France, Italy and Portugal will sign a convention for poker shared liquidity!
— Alexandre Dreyfus (@alex_dreyfus)
Immediate reactions from the poker community reaction was universally positive, with Kara Scott, a member of Team 888poker, saying, "Finally!