Winamax cancels their live poker tour

French online poker operator Winamax has announced that its upcoming Winamax Poker Tour (WiPT) has been cancelled as alive event and will now be entirely played online. It follows a court ruling that its dozens of live satellites, which are free to enter, nevertheless constitute unlawful gambling.

Apparently, Winamax’s two gaming licenses pertained only to online, and that the company was forbidden from organizing live poker tournaments and this case was brought to notice of the French Court by a consortium of Casino operators as they claimed that such games constituted running illegal gambling houses, and that doing so resulted in financial damage to the casinos.

Winamax had spent months putting together the new season, with live venues booked, hotel rooms reserved, and service providers and partners organized. However, it came to a stop earlier this year in May after a court of appeals decision. The events will now take place entirely online on Winamax.FR and, presumably, Winamax.ES, the new Spanish licensed site of Winamax.

Winamax, in a blog post, said, “Let’s immediately answer the most pressing question that many of you have been asking for a few weeks: no, the Winamax Poker Tour, as you’ve known it, as you liked it, with its great live festive stages and friendly gathering thousands of fans throughout France, is history. At least least for now!” Winamax’s other live events, including its regular Dublin event and the Marrakesh SISMIX event, are not thought to be impacted by the decision.

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