Online poker cardroom
Screenshot of the Pokerstars GUI (the "classic" theme) at a real
money table
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom.[1] 4️⃣ It is the largest real money
online poker site in the world,[2][3] controlling over two-thirds of the total online
poker 4️⃣ market,[4] and can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for Windows,
macOS, Android and iOS.
A PokerStars online satellite tournament produced 4️⃣ the 2003
World Series of Poker (WSOP)[5] champion, Chris Moneymaker. As the first person to
become a world champion by 4️⃣ qualifying at an online poker site,[6] Moneymaker's 2003 win
was an important factor in catalyzing the poker boom of the 4️⃣ mid-2000s. The press has
called this the "Moneymaker effect."[7]
PokerStars was part of The Stars Group until it
was sold to 4️⃣ Flutter Entertainment, owner of the Irish gambling company Paddy Power, on
May 5, 2024.[8]
History [ edit ]
PokerStars launched its beta 4️⃣ play-money-only site on
September 11, 2001.[9] The company began offering real money wagering on December 12,
2001. PokerStars was originally 4️⃣ a Costa Rican company, Rational Enterprises, part of
Canadian company The Stars Group which was majority owned by the Canadian 4️⃣ Scheinberg
family.[10][11] The company was subsequently moved to Onchan, Isle of Man. The move was
driven by the establishment of 4️⃣ a 0% corporate tax rate and the removal of rules barring
companies from accepting casino and poker bets from the 4️⃣ United States.[10] PokerStars
holds numerous licences in other jurisdictions (see Regulated Markets below). In
February 2012, PokerStars acquired a European 4️⃣ Union license granted by the Malta
Lotteries and Gaming Commission.[12]
While privately owned, PokerStars had been the
subject of financial media 4️⃣ speculation regarding a possible initial public offering or
merger with a publicly listed company. Analysts estimated its market value would 4️⃣ have
been approximately US$2 billion in 2006, which would have made the company one of the
world's largest privately held 4️⃣ gambling companies.[11] PokerStars overtook PartyPoker
as the world's largest online poker room after the U.S. Congress passed the Unlawful
Internet 4️⃣ Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Many sites, including PartyPoker,
immediately suspended business with U.S. gamblers, while others, including PokerStars,
did 4️⃣ not.[13]
In December 2009, PokerStars set the world record for the biggest online
tournament. The tournament entry fee wasR$1, and the 4️⃣ number of entrants reached
149,196.[14] They broke that record in December 2011, when 200,000 players played in
aR$1 buy-in tournament 4️⃣ with a first prize ofR$50,000.[15] PokerStars was so busy during
the early stages of the tournament, all tournaments had to 4️⃣ be stopped for 20 minutes
because the heavy traffic crashed their servers. This record had been broken again in
June 4️⃣ 2013, with 225,000 participants. The buy-in wasR$1 and went completely into the
prize pool, with no rake.
In January 2012, PokerStars 4️⃣ introduced a downloadable mobile
client for iOS from iTunes. In February 2012, the company also introduced a client for
Android.[16]
In 4️⃣ July 2012, PokerStars bought its former competitor, Full Tilt
Poker.[17] TheR$731 million deal settled a civil lawsuit with the Department 4️⃣ of Justice
while giving ownership of Full Tilt Poker's assets to PokerStars.[18]
In June 2014, The
Stars Group, then known as 4️⃣ Amaya Inc, agreed to buy PokerStars and its parent company
forR$4.9 billion in cash.[19][20] The deal was completed on August 4️⃣ 1, 2014.[21] Later
the deal led to a major insider trading investigation conducted by the Autorité des
marchés financiers (AMF) 4️⃣ over a four-year period concerning Amaya Inc.[22][23]
As of
April 2024, they have reached an agreement with Netent to add desktop 4️⃣ and mobile
gambling games to its poker lobby in New Jersey and other locations.[24]
In February
2024, Microgaming announced a partnership 4️⃣ with PokerStars, owned by parent company for
the integration of its Quickfire platform.[25]
In July 2024, PokerStars agreed to a
deal 4️⃣ with bankruptcy administrators to acquire some of rival PKR's assets without
reviving the brand, while refunding the full account balances 4️⃣ of the entire PKR player
base.[26]
In December 2024, PokerStars unveiled a brand new player tournament called
the PokerStars Players No 4️⃣ Limit Hold'em Championship, which is to be held in January
2024. The tournament is expected to become one of the 4️⃣ biggest events in the annual
poker calendar with a twenty-five thousand dollar buy in and aR$1 million bonus for the
4️⃣ eventual winner.[27][28]
In March 2024, The Stars Group reached an agreement with
gaming company Sugal & Damani to support the launch 4️⃣ of its PokerStars brand in
India.[29][30]
In September 2024, PokerStars launched PokerStars VR, a fully immersive
virtual reality poker experience.[31][32] The 4️⃣ platform was developed in collaboration
with virtual reality software developer Lucky VR and was unveiled at EGX
2024.[33][34]
In October 2024, 4️⃣ The Stars Group, owner of PokerStars, agreed to be
acquired by Flutter Entertainment, in aR$6 billion all-share merger.[35][36] On May 4️⃣ 5,
2024, PokerStars became part of Flutter Entertainment.[37]
In 2024, Pokerstars entered
into a partnership with Red Bull Racing, sponsoring their 4️⃣ Formula 1 team, with the
brand to appear on Red Bull's new cars for the next few seasons, as well 4️⃣ as on the
suits of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez.[38]
In January 2024, PokerStars announced an
extended multi-year partnership deal with 4️⃣ Red bull racing. The deal included
PokerStars’ branding on the RB18 and race suits. The company stated they aim to 4️⃣ provide
fans “new and unique ways” to watch the sport in addition to increase technological
advancements.[39]
In April 2024, Pokerstars launched 4️⃣ their peer-to-peer betting
exchange which allowed customers to enter their own odds and bet against other
customers.[40]
In December 2024, Pokerstars 4️⃣ announced that Michigan and New Jersey
players would be unable to access their servers on December 12 and December 13 4️⃣ for a
“major upgrade of the site” . This upgrade is to allow Michigan and New Jersey poker
players to 4️⃣ play together, as both states are participants in the Multi-State Internet
Gaming Agreement (MSIGA). Pokerstars stated, “The upgrade is a 4️⃣ necessary milestone to
bring more games, bigger prize pools and guarantees in poker tournaments so New Jersey
and Michigan poker 4️⃣ players can compete against one another in the near
future."[41]
Games [ edit ]
PokerStars offers multiple poker variations: Texas hold
'em, 4️⃣ Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo (8 or Better), Courchevel, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo (8 or Better),
Razz, Five-card draw, 2-7 Triple Draw & 4️⃣ 2-7 Single Draw, Badugi, HORSE, HOSE, Mixed
Hold'em, Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo, Triple Stud and 8-Game Mix. PokerStars also offers "Mixed
4️⃣ Games," which rotate through several of these games.[42]
PokerStars averages over
15,000 players playing real money cash games daily.[43]
PokerStars launched Zoom 4️⃣ Poker
in March 2012, with an official launch in May 2012. Zoom Poker is a fast fold ring game
poker 4️⃣ format where opponents change after every hand. The aim of Zoom poker is to offer
players more hands of poker 4️⃣ than in a regular ring game.[44] In January 2013 PokerStars
rolled out Zoom Poker Tournaments due to popular demand for 4️⃣ the fast fold variant
[45]
Online tournaments [ edit ]
The site's weekly Sunday Million tournament has a
guaranteedR$1 million prize pool 4️⃣ and aR$215 buy-in. The Sunday Million is the biggest
weekly online poker tournament. On March 7, 2011, The 5th Anniversary 4️⃣ Sunday Million
broke records, with 59,128 players creating a total prize pool
ofR$11,825,600.[46]
World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) has been 4️⃣ running since
2002 and is regarded[by whom?] as the online equivalent of the World Series of Poker.
The WCOOP tournament 4️⃣ series is the largest online poker series and pays out the largest
prizes in online poker. The WCOOP 2010 Main 4️⃣ Event champion Tyson "POTTERPOKER" Marks
wonR$2.2 Million, the largest online tournament prize in history.[47]
Spring
Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) was 4️⃣ established in 2009 and has since become the
most popular online tournament series.[48] Unlike WCOOP, there are three different
buy-in 4️⃣ stakes in the SCOOP events: Low, Medium (10x Low stake) and High (100x Low
stake).
Micro Millions was launched in March 4️⃣ 2012 as a tournament series designed for
recreational and micro-stakes players offering a low buy-in tournament schedule and
large guaranteed 4️⃣ cash prizes. PokerStars guaranteedR$5 million in prize pools for the
second installment of MicroMillions.[49]
In 2014, PokerStars was hosting 500,000 online
4️⃣ tournaments each day.[50]
Live poker tours [ edit ]
PokerStars sponsors various live
poker tours such as the European Poker Tour (EPT), 4️⃣ Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT),
Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Estrellas Poker
Tour (ESPT), 4️⃣ Eureka Poker Tour, Italian Poker Tour (IPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour
(CSPT), Australia & New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), France Poker 4️⃣ Series (FPS), Belgian
Poker Series (BPS), Russian Poker Series (RPS) and Brazilian Series of Poker
(BSOP).
PokerStars VR [ edit ]
Pokerstars 4️⃣ VR is a free-play poker game for Oculus and
Steam VR platforms that was released in 2024. It allows players 4️⃣ to get free chips and
use them to play Texas hold 'em as well as roulette, blackjack, slots, and sports
4️⃣ betting, although the winnings cannot be transferred into real money. Players can use
store credits to buy cosmetics and props 4️⃣ for use in games. As of February 2024 it was
the 14th most popular game on Meta Quest.[51]
Pokerstars is a 4️⃣ company website offering
only free play games. The pokerstars domain is used primarily in their TV
advertisements since there are 4️⃣ no real money games available at this website. This
avoids any legal issues or censorship of using their pokerstars domain 4️⃣ which allows
real money games.
PokerStars.tv is the online source for PokerStars TV shows,
commercials and event highlight shows – with 4️⃣ commentary and expert analysis available
in up to 7 languages. The content available includes live cards-up coverage of the
biggest 4️⃣ PokerStars tournaments, TV shows such as The Million Dollar Challenge and
PokerStars Big Game and online tournament highlights from WCOOP 4️⃣ and SCOOP.
Team
PokerStars [ edit ]
PokerStars sponsors a team of professional poker players known as
Team PokerStars. As of 2024 4️⃣ , the team consists of André Akkari, Arlie Shaban, Ben
Spragg, David Kaye, Felix Schneiders, Fintan Hand, Georgina James, Jennifer 4️⃣ Shahade,
Lasse Jagd Lauritsen, Laurie Tournier, Lex Veldhuis, Nicholas Walsh, Parker Talbot,
Rafael Moraes, Ramón Colillas, Sam Grafton and Sebastian 4️⃣ Huber.[52]
Celebrity players [
edit ]
Former Brazil striker Ronaldo pictured with PokerStars in 2014
PokerStars also
has had a Celebrity team and 4️⃣ a Sports team, called respectively "Friends of PokerStars"
and "SportStars". These have included Jamaican Olympic gold medal winner and World
4️⃣ record holder Usain Bolt and American actor / comedian Kevin Hart.[53] Former
associated celebrities include World Cup winning Brazilian striker 4️⃣ Ronaldo,[54] tennis
pro Rafael Nadal,[55] former tennis champion Boris Becker, FIFA World Cup-winning
Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Manchester United star 4️⃣ Cristiano Ronaldo, Dutch
field hockey Olympic Gold medalist Fatima Moreira de Melo, Norwegian cross-country
skier Petter Northug, Swedish cross-country skier 4️⃣ Marcus Hellner, quantitative analyst
and author of the 'Chen Formula' for Texas Hold'em Bill Chen,[56] Brazilian auto racer
and race 4️⃣ team owner Gualter Salles and French rugby union international Sébastien
Chabal.
Regulated markets [ edit ]
PokerStars and PokerStars.eu operate worldwide under
4️⃣ a license from the Maltese government. PokerStars also operates under separate
government licenses in Denmark, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and 4️⃣ Estonia.[57] In
October 2008, PokerStars launched PokerStars.it, exclusively for Italian players, which
offers real money tournaments in euros in addition 4️⃣ to the usual play money games.
PokerStars offers some ring games and tournaments on its main PokerStars site in euros.
4️⃣ In March 2010, the site began allowing users to keep their real-money accounts in
British pounds and Canadian dollars as 4️⃣ well as U.S. dollars and euros.
In March 2024,
PokerStars launched in New Jersey for real money.[58][59]
In June 2024, PokerStars
ceased 4️⃣ to allow real-money online poker in Israel. The decision is thought to have been
made after recent pressure from the 4️⃣ country's banking regulator on financial
institutions demanding they stop processing online gambling transactions.[60]
In July
2024, PokerStars stopped offering real money 4️⃣ games to players who are physically
located in, or have a registered address in, Slovenia.[61]
In July 2024, PokerStars
withdrew from 4️⃣ the Portuguese market. In November 2024 the Portuguese regulator,
Serviços de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ) issued its first 4️⃣ online poker license
to The Stars Group's subsidiary REEL Europe Limited. As a result, legal online poker
returned to Portugal.[62]
In 4️⃣ November 2024, PokerStars was cleared to launch in
Pennsylvania for real money in 2024.[63]
On January 29, 2024, Pokerstars launched in
4️⃣ Michigan. Pokerstars was Michigan's first regulated online poker site.
In December
2024, Pokerstars announced the would be combining players from Michigan 4️⃣ and New Jersey
under the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement.
Domain name seizure [ edit ]
On April
15, 2011, the Department of 4️⃣ Justice seized the internet addresses of the three online
gambling sites,[64] a total of five URLs: Pokerstars, Fulltiltpoker, Absolutepoker,
4️⃣ Ultimatebet and UB.
On April 15, 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern
District of New York seized and shut 4️⃣ down Pokerstars and several of its competitors'
sites, alleging that the sites were violating federal bank fraud and money laundering
4️⃣ laws.[65] On April 20, 2011, the U.S. Attorney's office returned control of the
Pokerstars domain name to the company in 4️⃣ order "to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S.
players’ funds held in account with the companies."[66]
On July 10, 2012, PokerStars,
asserting 4️⃣ the Government had insufficient grounds on which to base the charges, filed
motions to dismiss the charges against them.[67]
On July 4️⃣ 31, 2012, the US government
dismissed with prejudice all civil complaints against PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker
after reaching a 4️⃣ settlement with PokerStars which includes PokerStars acquiring Full
Tilt.[17] Under the terms of the settlement, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker 4️⃣ admitted no
wrongdoing for their past U.S. activities. The U.S. Government acknowledged both
companies can apply for licenses to operate 4️⃣ online gaming in the U.S. when a legal
framework for such licenses is offered.[68] The settlement terms also called for
4️⃣ PokerStars to acquire certain assets of Full Tilt Poker from the Government.
On August
9, 2012, PokerStars paidR$225 million to the 4️⃣ U.S. Department of Justice, consummating
the asset transfer of Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt Poker was successfully relaunched on
November 4️⃣ 6, 2012.[69]
