PokerStars Ends Play Money Games for German Players PokerStars Ends Play Money Games for German Players
Key Takeaways
  • PokerStars has made further changes to the offering for German players.
  • They were also among the operators to comply with the restrictions of the toleration policy, which went live on September 15.
  • As of February 25, German players however no longer have access to the play money tables.
  • Operators are expected to comply with the suggested restrictions to be considered for one of the online gambling licenses.

PokerStars has made further changes to the offering for German players as the company prepares for the introduction of the new online gambling law later this year. At the end of February, play money tables became no longer available.

The changes came into effect just a few days prior to parent company Flutter’s 2020 financial report, which reported strong performance across the company last year and modest gains in online poker.

During the call, parent company Flutter emphasized the focus to “reassert PokerStars’ leadership in poker” with continued marketing and investment efforts, but flagged Germany as a potential headwind.

Under the new leadership of Flutter, the PokerStars brand has pulled out of several grey markets. They were also among the operators to comply with the restrictions of the toleration policy, which went live on September 15, 2020. However, not all suggested restrictions were implemented right away.

This has now been amended, as the four-table cap has officially been introduced. At the same time, the already existing panic button has been removed from the table layout and only appears in the main lobby of the client.