A recent rumor in the gaming world suggests that the Scheinberg family who founded PokerStars are in talks to buy back the site from the Canadian gaming company Amaya Inc. The Scheinbergs had sold the company to Amaya in 2014.
The news gained further credibility from a twitter conversation which was a spillover from the networking sessions of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E). G2E is one of the top annual gaming conferences where executives from leading gambling companies gather to review recent technical advancements in the industry and attend educational sessions.
The rumor has its origins in a tweet by Adam Small, the co-founder of leading poker community site Pocket Fives. Small sent out a couple of tweets saying
@Poker_Hack @Grange95 Word on the street is that Stars is going to be re-privatized, and Scheinbergs back involved, leaving US again
— Adam Small (@AdamLoebSmall) October 6, 2016
@Grange95 @Poker_Hack Heard it from a few people around G2E this year, but like most rumors, no idea where it started
— Adam Small (@AdamLoebSmall) October 6, 2016
According to industry observers, there is no clarity currently if the news has any credence. However given that the source was Small, considered to be one of the respected industry figures, and that the news came from people attending G2E, many feel that there might be some truth in it. There are also financial and operational reasons that could support such a move. PokerStars, which is the biggest online poker website in the world has made a number of changes under the Amaya Inc ownership and pulled out of most grey markets. The company did this in order to break into the U.S market.
However PokerStars’ run in the U.S. market has been rather patchy. While it gained approval to enter the New Jersey market where it is seeing an average performance, it has poor chances of getting into the Californian market. The only state that is likely to legalize online poker in the near future is Pennsylvania which might not be sufficient reason for the company to keep investing into the country. Should the Scheinbergs repurchase PokerStars, there is a strong possibility that they will drop the plan to enter the US market and once again set up operations in grey market areas which is more riskier but also profitable.
There are others who believe that if the Scheinbergs take back control of PokerStars they will cancel some of the decisions made by the Amaya Inc management such as changes in the PokerStars rewards program and the recent sponsorship of the Global Poker League. Amaya Inc recently reported that it was in talks with William Hill for a possible merger.
