Apple chooses to cancel real money apps from PokerStars and 888Poker
Apple has chosen to pull the apps for PokerStars and 888Poker that was offered under their Apple Australian store. The reason for this related to instructions coming from the Australian government as it pertains to laws in that country.
There is a move by several senators who want to see a crackdown on those oversea operators who are offering their services to Australians when it conflicts with laws in Australia. Under the current interactive gambling act in Australia online poker is not allows. Based on that law the government forced the issue and Apple was left with little choice but to remove both apps from their store.
PokerStars stated, through Twitter, that they were aware of the current issues and were in the process of updating the mobile app in the Australian ITunes store. They stated that players would be able to continue playing with any current apps they had on their devices but adds that older versions may need to be updated. Currently the processing of updates is not available and PokerStars is recommending playing using a laptop or desktop.
They later updated their Twitter account stating that the app had been removed by authorities in Australia. The main online software has not been affected but may be at a later date. It does appear that Australia is taking a strong position again mobile gaming at this time.