PokerStrategy close Finnish site due to legal concerns
Players and staff given just 48 hours' notice of closure just months after Playtech acquisition
PokerStrategy, the Playtech-owned poker affiliate network, has taken the decision to close its Finnish-speaking online poker site citing “legal reasons” over the marketing of online poker in Finland.
Players and staff were given just 48 hours’ notice of the closure which came into effect on 31 October, and a statement issued by the PokerStrategy team stated the measure was the only way to fulfil legal requirements relating to marketing.
“Interpretation of the ‘marketing’ is very strict: for example, a link to a site with any mention of the campaign is interpreted as marketing,” the statement read.
The Finnish site now automatically redirects users to the English-language version, with the affiliate network offering to transfer players to other foreign language communities if requested while a Finnish-speaking forum will be opened on the English site.
Playtech, who acquired the eGR Power Affiliate for 38.3m in July, has an on-going relationship to supply software to Finland’s state gaming operator Rahaautomaatiyhdistys (RAY).
RAY holds the exclusive right to manage all gaming licences in Finland, with the monopoly reporting a 25.9% year-on-year increase in gross gaming revenue from digital channels in the January to August period this year.
Playtech first partnered with RAY in 2010 when it was awarded a four-year contract to provide online casino and poker products following the regulation of online gaming in Finland earlier that year.
A two-year extension to the contract was agreed upon in April, with the operator also receiving Playtech’s mobile casino product.