partypoker exits Australia on August 31

The poker brand said in a post on its official blog that it will no longer be accepting local gambling customers as from August 31. It also informed players that their funds are and will be safe and that they will be able to withdraw them at a time they find fit.

Tom Waters, partypoker´s Managing Director, said that being one of their strong markets, they are saddened to leave. ""We will continue to work with the Australian player alliance to lobby the government to provide a safe regulated environment for residents to play online poker in the future,” he said.

partypoker has become the first major gambling brand to leave Australia after the August 9 approval of the proposed changes to the nation’s online gambling laws. Days after the Senate voted on the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill, PokerStars -another major operator with presence in Australia- announced that its official departure is likely to take place in mid-September.

Aside from partypoker and PokerStars, other major operators to have already left the market even prior to the Senate vote, such as Vera&John, 888poker, Gaming Innovation Group, and 32Red.

Source: GMB