partypoker to Exit Poland & Norway Markets From December 17

GVC Holdings, the parent company of partypoker announced in November that it plans to offer its services exclusively to the regulated, fully licensed markets. In line with this business decision, partypoker will now be unavailable in certain jurisdictions starting mid-December.

Players from more than a dozen countries are affected by this recent move, and they have no longer been allowed to make deposits into their accounts since December 1.

Poker tables will also remain closed beginning December 17, but withdrawals will still be allowed.

Players will also receive their cashback via their accounts by December 23, however they will no longer be able to redeem any non-cash reward, such as tournament tickets and loyalty points. partypoker has confirmed that it will exit two European countries (Norway & Poland) by December 17.

Following partypoker’s departure from unregulated markets, a lot of players will now not be able to participate in the upcoming MILLIONS Online. The festival’s fourth installment is scheduled for February 2021, headlined by the $5,300 buy-in Main Event. The first of multiple flights into this event will kick off on Valentine’s Day.

The recent exit from Poland and Norway is a sad news for many players in the region who are aiming to take a shot at one of online poker’s biggest tournaments. In 2018, MILLIONS Online gave away a massive $21,835,000 in total prize pool after attracting 4,367 entries. The following year, the festival ended up awarding $21,090,000 in prize money to the top finishers.

GVC to Exclusively Focus on Regulated Markets

The announcement was made by partypoker’s community manager Colette Stewart on their Discord forum, saying they will cease their operations in unregulated poker markets, in compliance with GVC’s new business policies. Customers in Norway, Poland, and Montenegro have also confirmed that partypoker sent them an email notifying them of the exit.

GVC Holdings is aiming to earn 100% of its revenue from regulated markets, and they’re nearer to that goal at 96%. Moving forward, the company is looking to permanently ditch unregulated markets and will place its focus exclusively on countries where online gambling is legal.

The company’s ongoing efforts are all part of its upcoming rebranding to “Entain“. Among its main goals under the new name is to provide a safer gaming environment for all of its customers and be proactive in dealing with problem gambling tendencies.