Sky Bet Merger Process With PokerStars Results in Freezing Access in Italy

Written by :

Aaron Goldstein

Published on :

26 January, 2019

Italian players can no longer access the Sky Bet Italia portal effective this weekend as the company is in the process of merging with PokerStars.

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Sky Bet confirmed it will be exiting the Italian market after more than two years operating there.

“Once Sky Betting & Gaming became part of The Stars Group, plans were made to bring together the best parts of both businesses,” Sky Bet has revealed to Gambling911.com conference media partner SBC.

“In Italy this will be a Sky Bet sportsbook alongside PokerStars and PokerStars Casino – providing the ultimate online gaming experience to our Italian customers.

“We are eagerly anticipating the launch by The Stars Group and Sky Bet of our new combined Italian gaming experience in 2019. Watch this space…’

You might recall in late 2017 that Sky Bet came under fire for closure of its affiliate program in the wake of a compliance crackdown.

PokerStars paid $4.7B to acquire the sports betting focused firm in what some sites referred to as a "pivot from poker".

The Stars Group may want to rethink that strategy, however, in light of their own Bahamas NL Hold'em Championship in the Bahamas this month ranking among the top 10 tournaments of all time in terms of payouts.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

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