PokerStars launches overhauled rewards programme
Weekly challenges axed and replaced by up to 60% rakeback as part of “easier to understand” volume-based system
PokerStars has announced the rollout of what the operator claims is a “fairer and more transparent” rewards programme.
The new system went live yesterday, 22 January, across any country with access to the “dotcom” or “dot.EU” website. This includes the likes of the UK, Brazil, Canada (excluding Ontario), Spain and New Zealand, but excludes countries such as France, Italy, Germany and the US.
In terms of the changes, PokerStars has scrapped its weekly challenges as the operator found that 75% of players who opted in failed to complete them.
The Flutter Entertainment-owned operator also said that customer feedback showed that the challenges were “one of the biggest areas of dissatisfaction”.
PokerStars said the new system will make it easier for players to know exactly how much they will be rewarded based on the frequency of play.
The programme is volume-based, which allows players to plan their play accordingly, which the operator said will make it “easier to understand and offer greater flexibility”.
PokerStars has raised the minimum requirements for players to receive a rewards chest, although the maximum rewards on the base programme have been raised from 25% to 40%. All rewards will be given in cash.
Furthermore, the poker firm is introducing two new tiers to its rewards programme for high rollers.
The first, dubbed ‘PokerStars Select’, is for those players that have raked €50,000 (£42,760) within a rolling one-year period. Those that meet this requirement will automatically be enrolled into this tier.
Those players in PokerStars Select will receive 50% of their rake generated as rakeback paid directly into their account as cash on a daily basis.
The next tier is PokerStars Select+, which is for those who rake €100,000 or more in the same period as the normal Select tier.
In the Select+ tier, players will receive 60% of their rake from Spin & Go and Zoom games back directly into their accounts. Select + players will also receive 50% of their rake from other poker games in cash.
PokerStars said: “Our goal is to offer a transparent and clear programme that benefits the vast majority of PokerStars players.
“The new PokerStars Rewards Program is far more generous than our previous model and offers up to 40% in rakeback to the vast majority of players (up from 25%) and up to 60% for the top rakers.”