World’s largest poker company PokerStars revealed Thursday afternoon that its New Jersey operations are scheduled to go live on 21st of March. This is the operator’s big return to the US online gaming market, which already has been announced for the first half of the year.
Back in 2011, PokerStars left the American poker market. However, once March arrives, the brand will be available again to US citizens located within the state’s borders. New Jersey currently has 17 online gaming sites and the poker destination will additionally improve the gambling offer in the Garden State. Aside from poker, PokerStars pointed out that their platform would feature table games and slot machines too. Prior its launch, the site will have to be tested by state regulators.
Amaya’s chairman, David Baazov, gave a statement highlighting that PokerStars was the “global leader” in online poker. He continued, stating that customers trust the platform “for its robust and innovative technology” as well as because of the “world-class security and game integrity.” Baazov, additionally, said that the company was “honoured and excited” to introduce its product to New Jersey players.
PokerStars was taken over by Amaya back in 2014; the parent company is a major player in the gaming market with several well established brands and more than 100 million registered users worldwide. In September, 2015, Amaya received green light by NJ regulators to start operations in the state.
However, returning in the United States hasn’t been easy for PokerStars, which was banned in the Garden State after some legal problems related to the former owners of the platform emerged; the operator had two failed attempts to obtain a NJ gaming licence in 2013. PokerStars even paid the Department of Justice a fine of $547 million, but refused to admit any wrongdoing.