PokerStars exclusively on FanDuel added Ontario on June 4, bringing the shared-pool poker offering to another regulated market.
The product had launched across Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in April, with FanDuel and PokerStars describing the rollout as a way to merge player liquidity across markets and build one of the largest regulated online poker networks in North America (FanDuel; PRNewswire). It is designed to connect sportsbook, casino and poker through a single wallet so customers can move between products while accessing a broader shared player pool (FanDuel).
PRNewswire said the launch introduced a dedicated poker app and desktop site.
In FanDuel’s update on the campaign, the operator said that in the nine weeks since the initial launch it had dealt more than 28 million poker hands.
Playtech said its iPoker platform is powering PokerStars exclusively on FanDuel in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ontario, and that the iPoker deployment is live in North America for the first time through FanDuel. In the same coverage, Playtech described the deal as a defining moment for its North American expansion (Playtech; ReadWrite).
FanDuel’s PokerStars General Manager Aaron Dugan said the partnership combines PokerStars poker experience with FanDuel’s scale to deliver bigger games and larger prize pools, while Playtech’s Marat Koss said the launch brings iPoker to three major regulated markets (FanDuel; Playtech).
PRNewswire also pointed to guaranteed tournament programming at launch, including two $500,000 guaranteed Sunday Million events for players in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan, and a $150,000 guaranteed “No Sweat” series (PRNewswire).
As Ontario is now live on June 4, the combined Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania player pool has been extended into Canada (FanDuel).
