PokerStars parent company Flutter Entertainment will be laying off employees at the online poker giant as part of a larger restructuring for the operator.
NEXT.io reported that the job cuts will affect the company’s global hubs in Canada, Europe, the UK, and Ireland. The exact number of employees affected remains unknown as of now, but the company had begun formal consultations with 100 staff members.
“PokerStars can confirm that it is proposing a number of organizational changes as part of its ongoing transformation program, which includes integrating its online poker offering with Flutter’s leading brands to better serve customers,” a PokerStars spokesperson told NEXT.io.
Business Structure Changes
Those comments fall in line with what the company has done in the U.S. In March, Flutter merged the PokerStars client into the FanDuel platform.
Flutter owns FanDuel and other popular gaming brands such as PaddyPower, betfair, and Sky Gaming. A similar move in the US may be in the works considering the company’s comments. That could lead to redundancies as the changes are put in place.
The staff reductions also come as the company has faced increased competition and loss of market share from operators like GGPoker, WPT Global, and CoinPoker in recent years. Regulatory challenges may also be part of the equation.
The UK Remote Gaming Duty almost doubled in April to 40%. Crypto operators and the use of prediction markets have also become competition for online gaming operators.
“While we have sought to minimize the impact on colleagues, including through opportunities for redeployment, the proposals will unfortunately result in a number of roles being affected,” the company said.
“We are communicating with those impacted as part of the process and will provide them with the support they need throughout.”
U.S. Expansion Slow
In the U.S., online poker and gaming expansion has been slow. In January, Maine became the first state to legalize online gaming since Rhode Island in 2023.
However, it’s unlikely Maine regulators give PokerStars access to that market. Attempts at online gaming legalization in a few other states have also stalled in recent years.
Stars returned to offering live events in the U.S. in 2023 with the North American Poker Tour (NAPT). The status of that tour’s Las Vegas event is unknown considering the coming changes along with the fact that partner Resorts World closed the casino’s poker room in March.
