The world’s largest Internet poker company has set up shop in New Jersey, hoping to give a boost to the nation’s largest online gambling market.
PokerStars was approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for full operations in New Jersey on Monday, and the company’s software became available for download.
The full launch, which followed five days of supervised test play, marked the re-emergence of the Internet poker giant, which halted their operations in the United States in 2011.
New Jersey has the largest market of the three U.S. states that currently offer Internet Gambling, along with Nevada and Delaware. Some analysts, however, say the market needs to expand to other jurisdictions in order to thrive.
New Jersey has been seeking reciprocal compacts with other states and even countries to offer Internet gambling with larger combined prize pools, but so far has only succeeded in take small steps toward that goal.
PokerStars is partnered with Resorts Casino Hotel. The site, pokerstarsnj.com, is New Jersey’s 18th Internet gambling site.
The company tried twice in 2013 to get licensed in New Jersey. However, it was suspended for up to two years, citing legal problems involving some company executives, including an unresolved indictment against its founder.
Some executives stepped down as part of the sale to Amaya Inc. over their involvement in PokerStar’s acceptance of bets in the United States after the goverment made it ilegal to take payments in connection with illegal gambling through the Internet.
The PokerStars website paid a $547 million fine to the Departmen of Justice but didn’t admit to any sort of wrongdoing.
