PokerStars
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Online poker |
| Founder | Isai Scheinberg and Mark Scheinberg |
| Headquarters | Isle of Man |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Parent | Amaya Inc. (2014–present) |
| Website | pokerstars |
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world; it can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
A PokerStars.com online satellite tournament produced the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) champion, Chris Moneymaker. As the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site, Moneymaker's 2003 win was an important factor in catalyzing the poker boom of the mid-2000s. The press has called this the "Moneymaker Effect."
In January 2012, PokerStars introduced a downloadable mobile client for iOS from iTunes. In February 2012, the company also introduced a client for Android.
On July 31, 2012, PokerStars bought its former competitor, Full Tilt Poker. The $731 million deal settled a civil lawsuit with the Department of Justice while giving ownership of Full Tilt Poker's assets to PokerStars.
On June 12, 2014, Amaya Inc. agreed to buy PokerStars and its parent company for $4.9 billion in cash. The deal was completed on August 1, 2014.
PokerStars launched its beta play-money-only site on September 11, 2001. The company began offering real money wagering on December 12, 2001. PokerStars was originally a Costa Rican company, Rational Enterprises, which was majority owned by the Israeli Scheinberg family. The company was subsequently moved to Onchan, Isle of Man. The move was driven by the establishment of a 0% corporate tax rate and the removal of rules barring companies from accepting casino and poker bets from the United States of America. PokerStars holds its licence with the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission and also holds government licences in Denmark, France, Belgium, Italy, Estonia and Spain. On February 10, 2012, PokerStars acquired a European Union license granted by the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Commission.
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