Portugal’s Online Poker Market to be Segregated; Only Ronaldo’s Tighty Whites Can Help

After Portugal’s SRIJ Director and Head of Online Gambling, Manuela Bandeira, surprised everyone by declaring an intent to pull Portugal out of the global online poker market, I believe Cristiano Ronaldo is our only hope of change.

After standing erect and defiant for 28-years, The Berlin Wall came crashing down after an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), Günter Schabowski, read a news release on television, without preparation, and incorrectly led journalists to believe that the wall was open. Thousands of jubilant East German’s marched towards the wall, bumbling Stasi Sentry couldn’t get any sense from their leaders, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Let’s hope the same thing has just happened at the recent Gambling Compliance pow wow in Lisbon, Portugal. SRIJ Director and Head of Online Gambling, Manuela Bandeira, has surprised everyone by announcing the new regulated online poker market would be the same as those vilified by online poker players in France, Italy and Spain.

The market has effectively been on hold since the summer after Portuguese officials announced plans to regulate the industry. PokerStars, Full Tilt, William Hill and PKR, packed up their suitcases and decided to go on an extended holiday while the country sorted its mess out.