The Danish Gambling Authority has seen fit to approve the license application of online gaming giant Full Tilt. As such, the operator announced on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, the launch of its Danish online poker room and casino in the European region.

Full Tilt will be competing with a large market in its new Danish residence, where 113 online poker and casino licensees are already operating, including their own sister-site, PokerStars. Other major poker sites that have obtained a license to dip into Denmark’s respectable player pool include Betfair, partypoker, PKR and Unibet, just to name a few.

“We are excited that Danish players are now able to play both casino and poker games on Full Tilt,” read a statement to the press from Dominic Mansour, Managing Director at Full Tilt. He explained that the launch of the operator’s online poker platform in Denmark means that “Danish players are able to create their stories on Full Tilt and compete against players from around the world.”

Full Tilt Danish Gambling License

Obtaining a license from the Danish Gambling Authority comes with a number of regulatory standards and requirements that must be met. Along with regulatory compliance, Full Tilt was responsible for paying a license fee of DKK 250,000 (USD $37,753), and must pay an additional annual fee of anywhere from DKK 50,000 to DKK 1,500,000 ($7,500 – $227,400) in Danish taxes, depending on the amount of revenue the company generates in rake and fees from its new local player base.

Since re-launching in 2012 under the new ownership of Amaya Gaming, Full Tilt has acquired four jurisdictional licenses to operate its online poker and casino gaming website. Along with Denmark, Full Tilt is also licensed in the Isle of Man, Malta and the United Kingdom.

Based on recent revenue reports, Denmark was an easy choice for the company when seeking out a destination for its next license application. The Danish Gambling Authority reported that its domestic online gambling market harvested a total gross revenue of DKK 7.75 billion (USD $1.1 billion) in 2014. That figure represents a growth of 2% since 2013 (DKK 7.575 billion), and a 3% increase since 2012 (DKK 7.5 billion).

Full Tilt Gaming Options for Danish Players

As a result of the Full Tilt launch in Denmark, players in the European state now have access to the full range of online poker cash games and tournaments promoted by the website. These include seasonal online tournament series like FTOPS and Mini-FTOPS, as well as qualifiers to the brand’s live sponsored events, such as the International Poker Open (IPO).

Full Tilt Casino now presents Danish gamblers with the ability to log on and play the site’s collection of graphically rich online slots, baccarat, blackjack and roulette games, as well as a range of live dealer table games and multi-player games.

Full Tilt’s fast-forward cash games, known as Rush Poker, can be accessed by mobile poker players in Denmark. For the moment, Rush Poker Mobile is in beta mode, compatible with iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices with iOS 4.0 or greater installed.

Late last week, rumors began circulating that two of the most active members of Full Tilt, Viktor Blom and Gus Hansen, are losing their positions as Full Tilt Pros. There was plenty of skepticism surrounding the reports, but the growing speculations were enhanced by the fact that The Professionals – the name chosen by the daunting duo of high-stakes poker pros – no longer appeared on the online poker website. Alas, Full Tilt has confirmed the story, stating that the site’s contract with Blom and Hansen “has expired”, while offering no interest in renegotiation.

Validation of the reports was provided on Tuesday via a spokesperson from Full Tilt who said, “We can confirm that Full Tilt’s sponsorship of Viktor Blom and Gus Hansen has expired. We would like to wish Viktor and Gus all the best in their future endeavors.”

When the popular online poker room rolled out a completely revamped version of its website last week, linkage was no longer provided to view the Full Tilt Pros, known as The Professionals. It was first thought that perhaps an error had been made, because searching within the parameters of the Full Tilt poker site for their names on Google immediately brought up the existing web page. As we know now, the omission of Viktor Blom and Gus Hansen was no mistake.

Just a few months ago, Tom “durrrr” Dwan was listed alongside Blom and Hansen as a member of The Professionals, but he chose to remove himself from the team. Perhaps that got the new heads of Rational Group to thinking about new ways to promote the online poker room. According to the spokesperson, the judgment “follows a year-long review of the Full Tilt brand and a decision to move away from pro-centric advertising to focus on the experiences and stories of the vast majority of our players.”

Despite the fact that the company assessed the situation as a means of altering the focal point from a few high-profile poker pros to a much broader range of more common player types, one has to wonder if there was more to the decision than that. Realistically speaking, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Gus Hansen haven’t played their best poker lately.

Hansen may have just under $10 million in live poker tournament cashes, collecting 1 WSOP bracelet and 2 WPT Championship titles along the way, but since mid-2009, he’s lost over $20 million in high stakes cash games and his last significant live cash was more than two years ago. Likewise, Blom has 7-figures in live event cashes, and while he’s always been known for his intense upswings and downswings on the virtual felt, he’s dropped below the negative $3 million mark this year alone. He also declined to participate in the 2014 World Series of Poker, doing little to increase his luminary status among the profession.

Obviously it doesn’t do an online poker room much good to sponsor a pro poker player that is no longer performing up to their former merit, but Full Tilt’s decision to sever professional ties with these high-profile players is even more justified from a fiscal standpoint. The online poker operator has been supporting these guys for years now, paying 100% rakeback to their accounts. With thousands of hands played on a regular basis at nosebleed stakes, just imagine the profit Full Tilt (or any other online poker room they play at) would make by collecting rake from their endeavors?

Whatever the case, Full Tilt seems to have major plans for the future, as the spokesperson then alluded to. “Full Tilt will celebrate the excitement, fun, and intrinsic enjoyment of playing our poker, blackjack, roulette, and slots games. A new TV campaign will launch imminently, representing this new approach,” he said, promising more details before the week is out.