Entraction Poker Network Withdraws From Canada, Israel, Russia, Norway and Turkey

In a move seen as a way of harmonising its operation with different countries’ laws, the ‘Entraction Poker Network’ has announced that it would no longer be offering online poker games in Canada, Norway, Russia, Turkey and Israel.
This year, Nevada based gambling giant International Game Technology (IGT) acquired the Entraction Poker Network for $115 million, with Entraction CEO Peter Astrom commenting at the time that “Entraction’s opportunities for success [would stregthen] when the US market opens.”
The Entraction Poker Network is one of the biggest networks in the world, with 112 different online poker rooms including Betsson, DevilfishPoker, GoldWinPoker and VictorChandler. It also has a peak hourly traffic of 2,175 players with a 7 day average of 1,260 players.
It would now appear that IGT and Entraction are taking steps to ensure they only license legally above-board sites in order to take advantage of potential markets, such as the USA, when online poker does eventually become legal.
IGT’s home offices are based in Las Vegas and the company’s latest move is seen as a way of getting its affairs in order so as not to complicate or jeopardise any future prospects for the company.
Nevertheless, the legality of online gaming in Canada is not in question, although the move may help to iron out any potential problem areas which may exist in relation to the US. The decision to withdraw from Israel, Norway, Russia and Turkey is more straightforward, with money-movement laws in these countries similar to the UIGEA in the States.
All in all, halting its service in these countries will now not only reduce the traffic on the network, but also likely toughen the fields. As 2+2 forum poster SMUTTTT wrote:
“This sucks. I play exclusively on Entraction now and this is gonna result in a tougher player pool for sure.”