PokerStarsâ US return on hold until next year
Operator still fulfilling regulatorâs requirements but says timing of launch will be based on commercial and technical considerations
PokerStarsâ much anticipated return to the US may not occur until 2016 with parent company Amaya Gaming still in the process of meeting the licensing requirements laid out by New Jerseyâs Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). [private]
According to reports, the firm is in the process of contacting previously registered players in the state with information about how to obtain unclaimed funds in existing Starsâ accounts, in line with the DGEâs requirement that Stars disposes of outstanding balances funded before 2011âs âblack Fridayâ crackdown.
Any unclaimed funds will automatically be transferred to the State of New Jersey on 28 December, meaning a launch before that date, or indeed this year, appears unlikely.
A spokesperson for PokerStars told eGaming Review that the firm had not yet set a date for its launch in New Jersey but added that the timing will be based âprimarily upon commercial and technical considerationsâ.
Amaya Gaming was awarded a licence to operate in New Jersey in September following a five-year absence from the US, with CEO David Baazov saying he was âvery pleasedâ to add New Jersey to the âlong listâ of regulated markets that had approved PokerStars and Full Tilt.