Recently, the online gaming world has been buzzing with news that Amaya Gaming is in negotiations to purchase Rational Group, the company that owns PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Now that the deal is just about final, Amaya is making plans to give PokerStars unprecedented reach by obtaining an American online gambling license for the once blacklisted brand.
Back in 2011, Poker Stars was one of the three sites that was discovered to be offering its services to American customers in spite of an online gambling ban in the country. The company was forced to withdraw from the American gambling market, and there were doubt that PokerStars would ever be able to re-enter. Now, Amaya is giving PokerStars some hope.
The future owner of the online poker site has set its sights on obtaining an online gambling license in New Jersey, one of a handful of states that has legalized online poker. “We've had discussions with Amaya to reactivate the application, and we plan to begin discussions with them tomorrow,” says David Rebuck, director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
“We'll look at whatever they bring over. I think in the long run it will be a good story for New Jersey”. While PokerStars has a negative reputation in the American gambling market, Amaya has a clean record. Now that Amaya will be in charge of PokerStars, the chances of obtaining an American license are much higher because local politicians are confident that Amaya will be compliant with the stringent regulations.
“I'm optimistic that they know what the rules are, and I fully expect them to be very aggressive because they want to be here.”
This is certainly exciting news for the online gambling market on an international level. We will keep you posted with further developments as they arise.
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