- Flutter Entertainment’s Poker Stars brand has launched its own peer to peer online betting platform called ‘PokerStars Exchange’.
- The PokerStars Exchange uses the same liquidity pool as Flutter owned BetFair–the world’s largest betting exchange.
- The P2P exchange is available now on PokerStars .EU and .COM domains and will go live in other regulated territories later in the year.
Interesting move by Flutter Entertainment owned Poker Stars–they’ve launched a peer-to-peer online sports betting platform named the ‘PokerStars Exchange’. The PokerStars Exchange will use the same global liquidity pool as Flutter owned BetFair–the world’s largest betting exchange.
This will give PokerStars players immediate access to a massive number of markets and allow them to ‘buy and sell bets’ with customers around the world. According to the Flutter press release announcing the deal here’s some of the other features of the P2P exchange:
- Better odds. As bets are placed directly against other customers, an exchange often has better odds than a traditional sportsbook.
- Lay betting. Players can bet on something not to happen (lay), as well as betting on something to happen (back).
- Be the bookmaker. Players can enter their own odds and if another player wants to take these odds, the bet is on.
- The PokerStars Exchange shares liquidity with the world’s largest sports betting exchange, the Betfair Exchange, meaning there are always plenty of markets to bet on and customers to bet against.
The P2P exchange is available now on PokerStars .EU and .COM domains and will go live in other regulated territories later in the year.
Richard Garrod, Director of Product at PokerStars, explained the rationale of a poker site implementing a sports betting exchange:
“We’re always looking at ways to bring PokerStars players something new, and to be able to do that in collaboration with our colleagues over at the world’s largest betting exchange is a huge privilege. Our research suggests that our customers would welcome the addition of an exchange product, with 70% of current sports bettors saying they want to get involved. The PokerStars Exchange gives our players access to a brand-new sports betting experience alongside a global community of sports fans, with all the convenience of a single account and wallet. After months of hard work and execution, we’re thrilled to offer PokerStars players this addition to the PokerStars portfolio.”
Not to mention the fact that the business model of a P2P exchange is similar to a poker room–the ‘house’ doesn’t book bets but charges a commission for facilitating them. The PokerStars Exchange will initially be available to players at PokerStars via their existing PokerStars account login and wallet. It can be accessed through the Exchange tab via PokerStars Sports.
Flutter Entertainment recently launched their FanDuel brand in Ontario, with plans to launch PokerStars in the province later this year. They also signed a promotional deal with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for both brands. The addition of the P2P exchange makes it very likely that PokerStars will also offer sports betting in Ontario. Top PokerStars competitor PartyPoker recently launched in the province and offer sports betting and casino gaming along with their poker app.
