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PokerStars on FanDuel told Alberta customers Oct. 23 that its poker desktop client and mobile apps are “coming shortly,” signaling the brand’s return to the province 10 days after PokerStars shut its international Alberta poker room. The notice confirmed the return but gave no launch date, schedule or other operating details.

The new service will require a fresh FanDuel account. Existing PokerStars accounts will not migrate to the Alberta PokerStars on FanDuel platform, although Alberta players can already create FanDuel accounts through the operator’s casino site.

PokerStars ended access to its international poker room for Alberta customers on Oct. 13, when the transition period following the province’s regulated-market opening expired. The previous shutdown used both IP location and registration details to block poker access. Player balances remained available for withdrawal, tournament entries for events starting from Oct. 13 were refunded, and non-promotional rewards were converted to cash.

The Oct. 23 message answers the question left open by the exit notice: PokerStars intends to return under the FanDuel branding. It still leaves key practical details unanswered, including when real-money games will begin and what cash-game or tournament offering Alberta players will get.

As we reported Oct. 13, 888 remains Alberta’s only regulated online poker operator, with its local room limited to an Alberta-only player pool. PokerStars on FanDuel is also expected initially to be ring-fenced to Alberta if shared-liquidity arrangements do not change.

That limitation remains important for the province’s new market. Alberta’s iGaming Corporation has said it is actively examining shared-liquidity pools within Canada, while the Supreme Court of Canada has reserved its decision after hearing arguments Oct. 7 in Atlantic Lottery Corporation et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario, a case concerning international player pooling. No decision timetable has been announced.

PokerStars on FanDuel already operates in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ontario. In Alberta, however, the launch remains contingent on the necessary provincial authorizations before the platform can accept real-money poker play.