Paddy Power Poker Joins PokerStars Network, Leaving Sky on iPoker
The Oct. 28 move gives Paddy Power access to PokerStars’ shared pool and makes Sky Poker Flutter’s final iPoker holdout.
- Paddy Power Poker moved from iPoker to the PokerStars Network on Oct. 28.
- The migration followed Betfair’s August switch and left Sky Poker as Flutter’s only iPoker brand.
- Paddy Power players were given one day’s notice before the move.
- The PokerStars Network now offers software, liquidity and tournament products to outside operators as well as Flutter brands.
Flutter moved Paddy Power Poker from the iPoker network to the PokerStars Network on Oct. 28, giving Paddy Power customers access to PokerStars’ shared player pool. Paddy Power was the second Flutter-owned poker brand to make the switch this year, after Betfair’s August migration.
Players received only one day’s warning before the Paddy Power move, according to US Poker. The change left Sky Poker as the only Flutter poker brand still operating on iPoker.
Betfair left iPoker on Aug. 13 and was rebranded as PokerStars on Betfair. The old PokerStars UK client was then shut down in October, moving its customers onto the Betfair-branded route; in Ireland, Betfair Poker closed and directed players to PokerStars’ dot-com network.
The latest migration advances Flutter’s plan to consolidate PokerStars, Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Poker on one online poker network while preserving separate brand identities. Pokerfuse reported that Sky Poker was expected to be the final Flutter brand to join.
As covered in September, the PokerStars Network was opened as a business-to-business proposition, allowing outside operators to use PokerStars software, shared liquidity, tournament products and game-integrity infrastructure while retaining their own brands. Partners can also use PokerStars-branded offerings including the Sunday Million, Spin & Go and the European Poker Tour.
PokerStars had operated primarily as a poker brand for 25 years before opening the platform to third parties. The new network competes with iPoker and GGPoker for external operator partnerships, while each added brand expands the shared player base available to partners.
Flutter has already used the model in Italy, where Sisal and SNAI retained their identities while sharing liquidity with PokerStars. Sisal said its poker revenue rose by more than 50% after its migration, and the combined PokerStars, Sisal and SNAI network has consistently held more than 55% of Italy’s online poker market.
Pokerfuse said broader network participation could increase traffic without PokerStars relying entirely on its own customer acquisition. If Sky Poker completes its expected move, all four Flutter brands would operate on the PokerStars Network while continuing to trade under their existing names.
