PokerStars Joins DFS Frenzy with Victiv Acquisition

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Amaya, parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt, announced today that it has acquired existing daily fantasy site Victiv.com. We had word back in March that Amaya was looking to enter the DFS market in time for the 2015 NFL season with a an announcement that included the words “strategic acquisitions.” It looks like Victiv is the one.

This is the most fitting acquisition PokerStars could have made. Victiv.com is reputable and has a great relationship with the fantasy community. The company takes an analytical approach to daily fantasy, constantly tweaking the rules of its games and trying to bring the “skill” element to the forefront of its contests. This rubs just right with PokerStars which also has a solid relationship with its players and takes a similar approach to poker.

Victiv is one of the most successful fantasy sites in the tier-2 category (that is, outside of market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings). This makes it a bargain buy with a lot of upside for Amaya. Given the considerable marketing budget, name recognition and experience behind the PokerStars team, Victiv stands to make big strides in closing the gap between itself and FanDuel/DraftKings.

Something else worth keeping in mind is the fact that PokerStars already has gambling licenses around the world. Currently, they are licensed in the Isle of Man, Italy, France, Estonia, Belgium, Malta, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Greece and the United Kingdom. These licenses will give PokerStars a leg up over DraftKings and FanDuel, which would need similar licenses to operate in regulated markets outside the United States.

As per the press release, Amaya has plans to eventually integrate DFS through the PokerStars platform and presumably offer fantasy sports to players around the world. This all puts PokerStars in prime position for fast, massive growth in the fantasy industry.

Introducing StarsDraft

In the press release, Amaya explains that Victiv will be rebranded as StarsDraft.com. The existing Victiv team will stay on board to manage the DFS brand. Victiv CEO Matthew Primeaux had this to say:

“StarsDraft will combine Victiv’s innovative platform and experienced DFS team with Amaya’s expansive consumer base and operational excellence as the world’s preeminent online gaming brand. We intend to capitalize on what we believe is strong crossover between online poker players and daily fantasy sports. PokerStars is the most-trusted brand in online gaming and brings unmatched security, customer support and technical infrastructure that we believe all players can rely on.”

You can head over to StarsDraft.com today to see a placeholder website with the familiar “star” icon reminiscent of PokerStars. The website is inactive as of this writing, but a short message explains that the DFS site will be “available soon” and directs players to Victiv.com in the meantime.

StarsDraft.com will mark the long-awaited return of the PokerStars company to the US market. PokerStars has long sought to wriggle its way into regulated markets in Nevada and New Jersey with no success thanks to its history of accepting players from the US after the passage of the UIGEA in 2006. Although StarsDraft.com will offer fantasy sports rather than online poker, it will give PokerStars an important first legal foothold in the United States.

The crossover appeal between fantasy sports and online poker has been long noted, and nobody is better primed to take advantage of that than PokerStars. Additionally, PokerStars already has a big list of e-mails and demographic information for its old US customers. Former PokerStars players should not be surprised to see e-mail announcements of the new fantasy brand in the near future.

The afore-mentioned press release also noted Amaya’s intent to make the new fantasy site accessible to new players with free-to-enter contests and a “Bankroll Builder” promotion that will give newbies a little cash to test the waters.