$4.9 Billion Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars Acquisition

It seems as though going ‘all in’ is not just for the punters; Amaya has recently announced that they will buy the group which owns the PokerStars gambling website.

Amaya is a huge multinational, traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, which has just become the dominant force in the industry. A recent press release from the two businesses stated, “The transaction will result in Amaya becoming the world’s largest publicly-traded online gaming company.” As well as that, they indicated their intentions of expanding into the US market.

The Road Hasn’t Been Easy

Even though these two poker sites are the most popular in the world, it’s not to say the brands haven’t had their fair share of issues along the way. Back in the summer of 2012, Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker were made to pay a massive $731million settlement in order to resolve allegations that the firm had bypassed federal laws towards online gambling.

Another consequence of these allegations was when Raymond Blair, the former CEO at Full Tilt, pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to gambling and fraud. After being given lengthy prison time, he was released on the grounds of health issues.

Timing of Deal is Significant

A fund manager at Miton Group, Gervais Williams, said the following,

“The timing of the transaction reflects the fact that the US online gaming market is deregulating, with the prospect of it becoming one of the most valuable online poker markets in the world. The enlarged Amaya business will be a formidable participant going forward.”

“We believe that the online gaming market in California is close to being opened, and following the transaction Amaya will clearly be working hard to fully participate when the time comes.”

Check out this interesting news roundup at APCW for some more information about the PokerStars acquisition and what else is going on the online gaming world.