PokerStars UK moves onto Betfair platform

• PokerStars is moving its UK poker product onto the Betfair platform from 13 August 2026, launching as PokerStars on Betfair.
• The move is the first step under Flutter Entertainment’s PokerStars Network, which pools player liquidity across Flutter’s brands.
• Paddy Power Poker and Sky Poker will adopt the same PokerStars software in the coming months.

PokerStars is moving its UK poker product onto the Betfair platform from 13 August 2026, launching a co-branded offer called PokerStars on Betfair.

The change, announced by PokerStars today, means UK-registered players will access the PokerStars global player pool through Betfair, while Betfair Poker’s standalone app closes and its customers move onto the new PokerStars-powered client.

Players do not need to take action now; PokerStars and Betfair Poker support teams will contact affected customers directly.

Shared network model

The switch is the first move under what Flutter Entertainment, PokerStars’ parent company, calls the PokerStars Network (PSN), a model that connects players across Flutter’s brands into shared, connected pools rather than running them separately. The approach already underpins PokerStars’ presence in Italy, through Sisal and SNAI, and in North America via FanDuel.

UK players keep access to marquee tournaments including the Sunday Million, SCOOP and WCOOP, and can still qualify for the European Poker Tour. Only the access point changes: Betfair Poker’s own app closes, and players are prompted to download the new PokerStars on Betfair client using their existing login.

Mike Woodbridge, Chief Commercial Officer at PokerStars, said the shift responds to a fragmented regulatory picture that has thinned out player pools market by market.

“In recent years, the market environment has gotten harder for brands like PokerStars. A patchwork of regulations from one market to the next has fragmented the global game and led us to make difficult decisions to exit certain markets and not enter others. Players have felt it through thinner fields and smaller tournament prizes on our site.”

“We want to do something about that, so we’re moving to a different model with the aim of improving liquidity and player pools and bringing people back to the poker table.”

Betfair’s stake

Kim Daly, Managing Director at Betfair, framed the integration as a way to round out Betfair’s sports and casino offer with PokerStars’ brand and software, which Flutter says has been the industry standard for 25 years.

“I’m thrilled to bring two iconic brands under one roof. By integrating PokerStars onto the Betfair platform, we’re uniting two category-transformers that share a passion for innovation and player empowerment. Combined with the market-leading Betfair Casino product we’ve developed, this creates a truly comprehensive offering – poker, sports betting, and premium casino gaming all seamlessly integrated.”

Wider rollout ahead

Paddy Power Poker and Sky Poker are next, with both set to replace their own poker products with PokerStars software in the coming months, further consolidating liquidity into the PokerStars.com global pool. Players holding both a PokerStars and a Betfair account will not be able to play poker on both at the same time.

The migration does not extend to Ireland. Betfair Poker closes there entirely on 13 August with no PokerStars on Betfair replacement, and Irish players are being directed to open an account at pokerstars.com instead.

Flutter has used a similar integration model before. The same liquidity-sharing approach underpins PokerStars’ merger with FanDuel in the US and its more recent integration into FanDuel in Ontario. That the UK, one of PokerStars’ oldest regulated markets, is now following this model suggests Flutter sees network pooling as a standard fix rather than a one-off North American experiment.

Woodbridge’s comments on regulatory fragmentation echo Flutter’s own warning that UK tax hikes will cut earnings by hundreds of millions over the next two years, a pressure that has also fed into the group’s decision to exit the London Stock Exchange in favour of a sole NYSE listing.

The change lands weeks after Flutter confirmed Dan Taylor as its incoming group chief executive, and echoes Playtech’s iPoker network going live on FanDuel earlier this year, both signs of a group leaning harder on cross-brand integration to protect poker’s place inside a business increasingly weighted toward sports betting and casino.