Amaya Gaming has announced that it is to make a series of changes to the VIP programme for its PokerStars brand. In an email to customers, Amaya said a new rewards programme will be launched at some point next year, with the updated system to cover all PokerStars products, including the BetStars sportsbook. All players will move to the programme, although customers will not be required to play any specific product to build up certain rewards. “You won’t be required to play on any specific product, but your activity on all products will help you progress on your path to…

Momentum to get online poker legalized and regulated within the state of California has fallen by the wayside thanks to the legislative session ending Wednesday. Yet again, poker players have to wait until next year. There was serious progress made in 2016, as California lawmakers figured out a way to appease the racing industry and the tribes on one front by giving the former a nearly $60 million annual subsidy in exchange for not being eligible for online poker licenses. That deal was hashed out early in the year. California’s tracks already offer online wagering, the only form of online…

The latest changes to California’s Internet poker bill call for online gaming companies who facilitated poker games for Americans between 2006 and 2011 to be excluded from the Golden State market for five years, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times. The amendment would prevent PokerStars, which has roughly 70 percent of the worldwide online poker market, from being involved right out of the gate in what is considered the nation’s largest online poker market. PokerStars facilitated games for Americans until 2011, before the federal government indicted its former owners. The company settled without admitting to any wrongdoing,…

Amaya Gaming, owner of the PokerStars platform, said Friday that former CEO David Baazov has resigned “from all positions” with the company. Baazov took a voluntary leave of absence from his positions as CEO and board chairman following insider trading charges that were made public in March. Baazov pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the alleged use of privileged information when trading company shares between December 2013 and the June 2014 deal to acquire PokerStars, the world’s largest poker site, for $4.9 billion. Rafi Ashkenazi, who was appointed interim CEO in March, is now at the helm of…

The California tribes blocking passage of the state’s latest online poker bill have proposed strict conditions for allowing PokerStars to get a license. In a letter to Assemblyman Adam Gray obtained by Gambling Compliance scribe Chris Krafcik (@CKrafcik), the seven-tribe coalition led by the Pechanga and Agua Caliente bands reiterate their longstanding opposition to Gray’s AB 2863 legislation but offer specific remedies to alleviate their concerns. The coalition has steadfastly objected to PokerStars participating in California’s online poker market due to the site having continued to serve US residents following the 2006 passage of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement…

The California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed a bill regulating online poker in the state on Wednesday, sending it to the full chamber for a possible vote.The committee approved AB 2863 on Wednesday. A vote had been scheduled to take place last week, but that was delayed as amendments were added to the bill. The amendments that were floated last week were inserted to the bill this week, and included: A “bad actor” clause that excludes online poker operators that accepted California players after the passage of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Sites that did so could…