PokerStars and Full Tilt will once again be offering online poker in the US following the decision by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) to approve the license application of parent company Amaya.
A launch date has not yet been announced.
“We are very pleased to add New Jersey to the long list of regulated markets that have found PokerStars and Full Tilt suitable to offer real-money online gaming,” said David Baazov, Chairman and CEO of Amaya on the corporate blog late Wednesday.
The eventual return of the world’s largest online poker operator will mark the first time it has offered online poker in the US since it agreed to halt operation in the States following the US Department of Justice crackdown on online poker in April 2011.
Amaya announced plans to acquire Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt, in June 2014. The deal closed six weeks later with a $4.9 billion price tag.
An “unprecedented review” by the New Jersey regulator spanned 14 months and included “a detailed review of Amaya’s operations and technology, sworn interviews with more than 70 individuals and visits to approximately a half dozen international jurisdictions,” Amaya revealed.
“This stringent review found PokerStars to be under strong, ethical and trusted ownership and management with Amaya, and worthy of participating in New Jersey’s regulated online gaming market.”
Amaya is partnered with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City and will be providing online poker and casino games in New Jersey as part of the agreement. Amaya recently began offering real money daily fantasy sports in the US after acquiring DFS site Victiv and rebranding the product as StarsDraft earlier this year.
