In France, online poker operator The Stars Group Incorporated has reportedly revealed that its PokerStars.fr service has received approval from the Autorite de Regulation des Jeux en Ligne (ARJEL) regulator to join in an envisioned European shared liquidity project.

According to a report from iGamingBusiness.com, the online poker shared liquidity scheme was first unveiled in July and is set to present players in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal with the ability to join in cross-border games from next year so long as all software is approved by authorities in every one of the four jurisdictions.

iGamingBusiness.com additionally reported that the inaugural ARJEL authorization was granted to Reel Malta Limited, which is a subsidiary of Toronto-based The Stars Group Incorporated and operates the PokerStars.fr service, on Friday and means that its France-based players will be able to participate in the future shared liquidity project.

PokerStars is reportedly the only online poker brand to already be licensed in France, Portugal, Italy and Spain. ARJEL purportedly explained that the shared liquidity authorization is contingent upon the operator keeping it abreast of any future software changes and ensuring that only players in the four nations participate in the upcoming shared liquidity games.

For its part, OnlinePoker.net reported that authorities in France, Spain and Portugal are expected to launch the cross-border shared liquidity experiment sometime next year before Italy follows suit in 2019. It purportedly declared that the changes are expected to open up the ring-fenced markets and help to boost revenues.