Today, it was confirmed that Amaya’s PokerStars, the online betting operator received an online sports betting licence that is valid in the Republic of Ireland.
The licence was given to them as a registered Remote Bookmaker’s Licence which was authorized by Ireland’s regulator, the Irish Revenue Commissioners. This will allow the company to put on offer all types of sports betting events to local players in Ireland approved under local laws.
PokerStars’ has a wide range of online poker and casino games for Irish players, and they will continue to operate under their gaming licence based in Malta. Through their site, Irish players will be able to access sports betting offers and they won’t have any interruption in the software or services.
They will now operate under an official licence and pay local betting duties to the Irish government which will be a huge source of new revenues.
This comes right before the start of the new football season across the UK and Europe. With the announcement PokerStars told media that it will continue to expand its sports betting options, offering bets on 18 sports and will add to its increasing number of promotions now available in Ireland. They will have more markets to offer, new features and interesting sports, including horse racing. They will be launched in the very near future in Ireland.
“We’re very pleased to receive a licence for our sports betting offering on PokerStars in Ireland,” said Stephen Fisk, managing director of sports betting for PokerStars. “Our operation of poker, casino games, and now sports betting shows that players trust us to deliver a variety of games in a fun and exciting way. We look forward to building on this by operating under this new license.”
The announcement came after Nektan got a licence too last Friday. PokerStars is now the second company to confirm receipt of the new bookmaker licences in Ireland, and the trend could be rising.
Earlier this year in March, Ireland’s Betting (Amendment) Act 2015 was signed into law which updated and extended the country’s regulatory regime in relation to bookmakers licences, as provided for in the Betting Act 1931. It was adapated to now include remote betting operators who accept bets from Irish customers such as PolerStars.
Due to the new licence shares in the mother company, Amaya Inc (Co. Data) (NASDAQ:AYA) were trading up 1.06 per cent today at $23.86 per share in New York.
