After a soft launch last week, PokerStars is now live and available in the state of New Jersey. New Jersey is the first state to legalize online poker again. PokerStars’ parent company, Amaya Gaming, revealed Monday that it received ‘technical approval’ from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to start the full launch of PokerStars NJ.
David Baazov bought PokerStars in 2014 for close to $5 billion and is Chairman and CEO of Amaya Gaming. He said: “We could not be more proud to bring PokerStars to New Jersey. Working with our partner, Resort Casino Hotel, we look forward to provide the most exciting, innovative and secure gaming experience to New Jersey.”
Next to poker games, PokerStars NJ will be running casino games such as blackjack, roulette and slots. All the games on the NJ website will only be available for players that are located within the borders of New Jersey and must be a minimum of 21 years old.
Worldwide there are roughly 100 million registered players playing on PokerStars. For the time being, players in New Jersey can only compete against other New Jersey players. This might change if the state decides to compact with another jurisdiction that licenses and taxes online poker.