PokerStars exits operations in China, Macau and Taiwan

The world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars, is said to have exited markets in China, Macau and Taiwan this week.
As cited in an email posted on the Two Plus Two poker forum on August 31, PokerStars informed its customers in those regions that the operator is halting its operations.
The email from “Stars Support” informed players of relaxed methods for withdrawals, noting that the minimum wire amount has been lowered to $50 for these three regions.
Payment app MuchBetter has also been enabled as withdrawal option without a previous deposit for China and Macau.
Although there is no official response from the firm as yet, in the recent earnings call of PokerStars’ parent company Flutter Entertainment, the operator stated, “[there are] a small number of The Stars Group jurisdictions that Flutter had previously determined it would not operate in and in such cases, we have now switched these markets off.”
Real-money online poker play in China, Macau and Taiwan is yet to be legalized. China, in particular, has been holding an anti-online gambling campaign, aiming to combat cross- border gambling. Thus, Flutter Entertainment may be looking to avoid legal issues with these three regions, opting instead for operation withdrawal.
During the second quarter of the year, PokerStars’ customers increased by 70% amid the closure of many casinos worldwide. LV