Poll: Can PokerStars re-entry transform poker in the US?

Last week’s news that PokerStars and Full Tilt are set to return to the US market after a five-year absence as Amaya was finally granted a licence by New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement was met with a mixed reaction by the industry.

While some of those operators already licensed in the state are concerned about losing share, other say PokerStars’ scale and marketing power could help them grow the sector as a whole.

“I don’t think they are a threat,” bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger told eGR. “It is a very welcome addition to the market. When you think how small the poker market is in New Jersey, only around $20m a year, so I assume they will at least double the poker market there,” he added.

With PokerStars once again set to accept US-based players, the firm may well find it easier to attain licences in other regulated states, and perhaps even prompt some of the bigger states to consider regulating the activity.

And licensure in New Jersey may prompt California to drop the much debated ‘bad actor’ clause, which would prevent a PokerStars’ entry, from its developing regulatory framework.

However, the poker landscape is very different to when PokerStars last accepted US players in 2011. With the vertical struggling to grow – even in Europe where it is regulated across several major markets – could it be that even a powerhouse like Amaya will struggle to make an impact?

With this in mind, this week’s eGaming Review poll asks whether PokerStars’ re-entry into the US will transform the vertical in the country. Have you say on the right-hand side of the page.