PokerStars Network Debuts With Betfair as First Brand
The new setup keeps PokerStars software and player pools in place, while Paddy Power Poker and Sky Poker are next in line.
PokerStars Network has debuted with Betfair as the first brand to join the new setup. On August 13, Betfair moved off the iPoker network and began operating as PokerStars on Betfair, with access to PokerStars’ global dot-com player pool.
As reported in August, PokerStars had already said UK players would move onto Betfair later in the year. The company said the UK change was about how players access poker, not about removing PokerStars software, which it says has been live since 2001 and has been the industry standard for 25 years.
PokerStars said UK players will still be able to play Sunday Million, SCOOP, WCOOP and Spin & Go, and qualify for major live events such as the European Poker Tour. It also said fair-play and security standards will continue across the network, even if some players hold more than one brand account, while a player can only play on one account at a time.
The wider plan is to bring Paddy Power Poker and Sky Poker onto PokerStars software later this year. PokerStars says PSN is meant to connect players across Flutter brands in shared pools and rebuild liquidity, while chief commercial officer Mike Woodbridge said patchwork regulation had fragmented the global game, leaving thinner fields and smaller tournament prizes. Betfair managing director Kim Daly called the integration a way to unite two category-transformers and create an integrated poker, sports betting and premium casino experience.
