A court in Spain ruled this week that PokerStars has operated legally in the country since it began offering its services in 2001.

Spanish gambling giant Codere claimed that PokerStars operated unlawfully prior to the country’s new gambling regulation in June 2012. Codere argued that online gambling operators were negatively impacting the firm’s land-based operations by offering services to Spanish gamblers without state authorization.

However, according to a press release issued by PokerStars on Friday, a Barcelona court affirmed PokerStars’ position that it operated lawfully in the country prior to June 2012 because “the lack of regulation meant that there was no relevant law preventing such activity.”

“This ruling confirms the legal advice we have been given and which we have followed in Spain for years,” said Paul Telford, group general counsel for PokerStars. “We are very pleased the court agreed with our position and look forward to continuing to provide our licensed poker services as the leading brand in the Spanish market.”

“The Barcelona court judgment is absolutely clear in its conclusion that PokerStars has always operated in Spain according to the law,” added Antonio Vázquez-Guillén, partner at Allen & Overy, PokerStars’ counsel for the case. “We are very happy with this outcome. It clarifies a question that, in our view, should never have been brought to a Court of Justice.”

PokerStars currently operates www.pokerstars.es under a specific online gaming license issued by the Spanish Gambling Commission in June. According to PokerScout.com, pokerStars.es is dominating the Spanish poker market, controlling nearly 70 percent of the real-money traffic since the new market opened.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Check out the original source here.

July 31 2012, Chad Holloway

Since the inception of Full Tilt Poker up until September of last year, Ian Imrich served as general counsel of the online poker site. On Nov. 2, 2011, Chris Ferguson retained Imrich as personal counsel. Ferguson was implicated on Sept. 21, 2011, when the U.S. Department of Justice amended its original civil complaint, alleging that Full Tilt Poker and board members Ferguson, Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer and Rafe Furst defrauded thousands of online poker players out of more than $300 million.

In the wake of PokerStars’ acquisition of Full Tilt Poker, PokerNews reached out to Imrich in the hopes of obtaining comment from Ferguson, and received the following reply via e-mail:

This settlement is great news for poker players worldwide, and particularly in the US. But Chris Ferguson is not in a position to comment at this time as he has not yet resolved his individual civil case with SDNY and the settlement discussions – while extremely positive and productive – must remain private and confidential at this time.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook now!

Follow Chad Holloway on

No comments yet. Be the first to post one!