Pinnacle leaves Slovenian market
The company has decided to exit the country untill it can bid for a license as online gambling is soon to be regulated.
Slovenia.- Pinnacle has left the Slovenian market right as new iGaming regulations are set to be implemented in the European country. The online gambling operator no longer accepts players from said jurisdiction as from March 3.
Earlier this year, customers received a short email indicating Pinnacle’s departure for regulatory reasons. But they will probably return to Slovenia once they can get an official license from the authorities. The Curaçao-based company is not the only one to take such a decisition.
Online poker brand 888poker has left said market as well on January following last year’s government’s announcement that it was ready to regulate the local industry. Right before 888poker, PokerStars also stopped its operations in the Slavic country. Companies have been working in Slovenia with a non regulated market and want to avoid any possible trouble once the new law is implemented.
Government is ready to regulate the online gambling busines after working for four years in new legislation. Last year, they announced at the European Commission that said laws had been drafted and were ready to take effect during 2017.
Alongside the Slovenia, Poland is set to new adopt new regulations next April, causing operators (including Pinnacle) to flee the market but without the same optimism that surrounds the Slovene market. iGaming companies are to be taxed 12 percent on betting turnover, a quite less appealing busines opportunity than in the rest of the regulated countries in Europe, where they contribute according to revenue.
