In Aftermath Of Baazov’s Acquittal For Insider Trading, Has Online Poker Grown Too Big To Regulate?

 Online Poker Has Online Poker Gone Too Big to Regulate After Baazov's Innocent for Insider Trading?

Flutter Entertainment Plc -- the conglomerate which owns Paddy Power, Betfair, and FanDuel - announced that it had acquired PokerStars' owner, The Stars Group, more than one year ago.

Flutter was the largest global gambling company at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. The merger was reached during the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic. Flutter's revenues derived 78% from sports betting. Flutter also had exposure of $1.4 Billion to land-based retail outlets. Peter Jackson, Chief Executive of Flutter, bet on PokerStars' name to offset the possibility of continued league closures. Flutter completed the $12.3 Billion merger on May 5, 2020.

PokerStars' attractive name proved to be a winning proposition after traffic increased by 230% to the sites in Europe during the March 2020 lock-down. The brand celebrates its 20th birthday this September and remains the largest poker website in the world. However, the M&A had its challenges.

PokerStars was plagued with ownership intrigues, regulatory disputes and billion-dollar court settlements. PokerStars also suffered a reputational catastrophe due in large part to the public spotlight on Canadian regulators' corporate governance. A Very Illustrative Poker Stars Room