What is share liquidity and how you can benefit from it

A long time ago, online poker was a free world, open to players living in almost any country. Massive tournaments and promotions were standard, and hundreds of thousands of players could be spotted at the tables. But nine years ago, poker Black Friday seized the PokerStars domain with many other sites and changed the course of history forever.

After that, some states in the US have legalized gambling, but Europe has taken a different approach. While some countries have adopted various regulations, others have created shared liquidity, creating a fenced market that merges their players' pool.

Portugal was the last country to join the shared liquidity with Spain and France, and now many trusted sites like 888Poker offer their services to European players. Sites like this have made of poker pt a whole new experience with the addition of hundreds of players from other countries and exclusive promotions.

But let's go back a little. What is poker shared liquidity? When a country legalizes online poker, it has two options:

1. Ask poker rooms to apply for licenses or partner with local sites to offer their global services;

2. create a fenced market where only players living in the same country can play against each other.

Spain, France, and Portugal initially decided to close markets, and the poker rooms operated in this way for several years. But those countries and Italy signed a shared liquidity agreement (which never ended the process), and after a brief approval process, players living in Spain were able to fight against French and Portuguese players.

Why is poker shared liquidity good for poker players? 

The first benefit is clear. There will be more traffic and tables, so players will have more options to play. But that's not all:

• More promotions are launched by poker rooms, taking advantage of local celebrations and increased traffic;
• Only licensed poker rooms can offer their services in those countries;
• Tournament series experience a guaranteed prize pool boost.

Best of all, players have to do nothing to enjoy the benefits of shared liquidity. They have to sign up at a legal poker room or keep playing on the same site and witness the increase in traffic and new promotions.

Why not all countries create shared liquidity?

It took three countries more than five years to reach a shared liquidity agreement. This implies intense political work, and the most important thing is that the country must have the will to pass gambling bills, which is not the reality in many places where gambling is still taboo.

In other words, it may take many years before we see more countries come together to create a more significant poker environment. Nevertheless, benefits like a major tax income and tackling down the gray market is very appealing, and that's why new laws and regulations are usually being discussed.

Summary

Determining whether regulation and shared liquidity are good for online poker is complex. We could say that if a country decides to legalize online gambling, players would appreciate having the biggest possible pool to play. Still, it involves complex tax regulations and other requirements.

But, if you live in a country that belongs to shared liquidity, the best thing you can do is hit the tables now to enjoy a better action.