by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Mar 5, 2012 | Updated on Mar 5, 2012Three more countries have been switched to the .eu version of the PokerStars site, a trend that is likely to continue throughout 2012. The latest move has brought players from Poland, Slovenia and Romania into the PokerStars.eu fold. They join the initial players from Sweden and Finland who populated the site, increasing the total number of .eu nations to five.Most players are unlikely to notice any difference now that they’re part of the European version of PokerStars – at least while they’re playing poker on the site. Players on PokerStars.eu are in no way segregated from those at PokerStars.com; both sites participate in the same games and tournaments, making them more like two skins on the same network than two different poker sites.However, if you live in one of the affected countries and formerly played at PokerStars.com, you might notice a difference at the end of the year. Many players in the European Union were required to pay taxes on winnings earned at PokerStars.com; however, many of these same players will not have to pay taxes should they make money through PokerStars.eu.These changes are the result of PokerStars’ recent acquisition of a license from the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta. This allowed PokerStars to claim a presence in the European Union, exempting some players from taxes that would be levied on winnings from sites that are outside of the EU. In other cases, what was an unclear tax situation will now be clarified thanks to the Malta-based site.This move is a continuation of PokerStars’ recent policy of working with EU and national regulations wherever possible. This means that not all players in Europe should expect to move to PokerStars.eu. Several nations, including France, Italy and Belgium, are likely to remain on nationally regulated sites. Unlike the .eu site, these national poker rooms are segregated, with (for instance) players on PokerStars.fr only competing against other French players.
