Playtech’s iPoker Network has become the first B2B poker network to take advantage of the new European shared liquidity laws by merging skins in France and Spain with the door open for Portugal and Italy to follow suit.

With the British preparing to rip themselves from the heart of the European Union (EU), the Americans preparing to wall itself in, and my two-year-old daughter screaming the word ‘mine’ when I grab her rainbow coloured T-Rex as she slurps on her spaghetti, it’s nice to write about a moment shared.

On Monday, the iPoker Network became the first B2B poker network to take advantage of the new European laws allowing online poker rooms in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain to share the same dishwasher.

The plan is to merge Betclic and Unibet.fr on the French side of the divide, and bet365, Betfair, Casino Barcelona and Sportium on the Spanish side. It’s fantastic news for the online poker rooms and players alike with greater guarantees and prize pools for players and more revenue for skin owners. The story first broke on the Spanish poker news site todoeljuego.com, and Playtech officials turned the gossip into reality when a press release landed in my inbox a few days later.