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With France opening its market to online poker sites, PokerScout.com is now separating the French domains in its monitoring of “real cash” players rankings.
While Full Tilt Poker has dominated the number two spot for the past few years, PartyPoker can claim victory in at least one category.
Its .fr online poker site is performing better than that of Full Tilt Poker’s, from the onset at least.
The PartyPoker.fr website averaged 660 players over the past week and came in at number 19, just squeaking by Bodog Poker, which takes U.S. players.
PokerStars and Everest were currently the biggest online poker rooms catering to the France market, both occupying the number 9 and 10 spot, respectively.
Full Tilt Poker and PKR were the latest online poker ventures to obtain licenses in France two weeks ago. That nation granted nine new licenses at that time. The nine new licenses issued included other forms of online gambling.
France passed an online poker bill back in April after previously denouncing the activity (mostly in order to protect its own state-run monopoly).
The Daily Telegraph quotes budget minister Francois Baroin as saying, "This text will allow us to progressively dry up the black market in online gambling by creating a legal offer which obeys the rules.”
Of course, what the European-based online poker firms are really hoping for is legalization in the United States.
Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
