PokerStars

PokerStars Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryOnline poker
FoundedSeptember 11, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-11) in Costa Rica
FounderIsai Scheinberg and Mark Scheinberg
HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Peter Jackson CEO
ParentFlutter Entertainment (2020–present)
Websitepokerstars.com
Screenshot of the Pokerstars GUI (the "classic" theme) at a real money table

PokerStars is an online poker cardroom.[1] It is the largest real money online poker site in the world,[2][3] controlling over two-thirds of the total online poker market,[4] and can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.

A PokerStars.com online satellite tournament produced the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP)[5] champion, Chris Moneymaker. As the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site,[6] 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."[7]

PokerStars was part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment, owner of the Irish gambling company Paddy Power, on May 5, 2020.[8]

  1. ^ "A shot across the bow? Malta gaming leaders unfazed by Swedish incursion". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "PokerStars Review & Marketing Code". pokerscout.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  3. ^ O'Keeffe, Kate (June 13, 2014). "Amaya Gaming to Buy PokerStars Owner". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Ambrose, Jillian (October 12, 2016). "Is William Hill's Poker-Stars deal the best game it can buy into?". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Chris Moneymaker's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Chris Moneymaker – money800 – Poker Player – PokerListings.com". Pokerlistings. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  7. ^ PokerNews.com: The Moneymaker Effect: Five Years Later. May 23, 2008.
  8. ^ "Gambling boss drives merger to completion in uncertain times". Financial Times. May 7, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2023.