Updated March 26, 10:30 AM ET Nearly nine years after the United States Government Department of Justice charged the owners of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker with operating illegal gambling businesses, in what became known in the poker world as Black Friday, the final defendant has pleaded guilty.

David Baazov, the founder of Amaya and the man responsible for guiding the company’s purchase of PokerStars from the Scheinberg family in 2014, has found himself at the center of another controversy as he attempts to take the company private.

Just days after being charged with insider trading, David Baazov has taken an indefinite paid leave of absence from his role as Amaya Chair CEO to deal with the allegations. He will remain a member of the board of directors.

When PokerStars acquired the Full Tilt Poker assets as part of their Black Friday settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, many wondered about the future of the Full Tilt Poker brand. To the surprise of many, PokerStars kept the Full Tilt Poker brand running separately alongside their own brand. Now, some 3.5 years later,… Continue reading Amaya Combining PokerStars & Full Tilt Into Single Player Pool

In mid-2014, Amaya Gaming bought PokerStars and Full Tilt in a deal worth $4.9 billion, changing the online poker industry forever. Soon, there could be another upheaval for the company, this one led by its CEO.

Isaac Haxton, Dani Stern and Daniel Dvoress finally issued a statement Saturday night, detailing as much as possible their recent meeting with PokerStars and Amaya executives. If you were hoping that the site would backtrack on its many changes that have affected high-stakes and high-volume regulars, it’s time to think again.

[CAPTION=90%]Isaac Haxton has decided not to renew his Team PokerStars Online contract[/CAPTION] Just a few minutes before boarding a flight to Manila to play the $200,000 buy-in Triton Super High Roller Cali Cup in the Philpines, Isaac Haxton dropped a bombshell – he was leaving Team PokerStars Online.

A Kentuckyjudge has ordered that PokerStarspay a minimum of $250 million in damages to the state for offering online poker in the Commonwealth after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was put into effect.

It has been a rough week for investors of Amaya Gaming, the parent company of PokerStarsand Full Tilt. On Tuesday, shares of Amaya, which are traded in Toronto under the symbol AYA, tanked 28% after the company cut its revenue and earnings estimates. On Wednesday at the time of writing, shares continued to slide, dropping… Continue reading Shares of Amaya Gaming Drop 28% on Tuesday

On Friday, the transactional waiverallowing Amaya to operate in New Jersey was published. The waiver outlines several terms Amaya must adhere to before launching. It is not known when the Amaya brands PokerStars and Full Tilt will begin operating in New Jersey, where their land-based partner is Resorts.

We tend to think of online gambling as the Wild West, where mavericks build empires from humble offices, compete against each other, come up with the next big thing, and develop the next big marketing idea.

In breaking news, Amaya, the parent company of PokerStarsand Full Tilt, made good on its promise to enter the daily fantasy sports world before football season started by acquiring Victiv. The site will be renamed StarsDraftand, according to a press release, will be “initially launched at StarsDraft.com in select US markets and later through the… Continue reading Amaya Officially Enters DFS, Acquires Victiv

The tug-of-war over bwin.party continues as GVC Holdings and 888 Holdings try to win the heart of their online gambling rival. 888 CEO Brian Mattingley (pictured) is both confident that his company will win the day and none too thrilled about the latest developments.

Last week, we reported that shareholders of bwin.party recommended that the company’s Board of Directors approve a $1.4 billion acquisition by 888 Holdings, the parent company of 888 Poker. However, not refusing to lay down and die, GVC, which had been in a bidding war with 888, has upped the ante, reportedly bidding $1.6 billion… Continue reading Game On: GVC Bids $1.6 Billion for bwin.party

After a flurry of bids, 888 Holdingswon the battle to buy rival bwin.party on Friday. The price: $1.4 billion in a cash and stock deal. 888 won out over a similarly-priced joint bid by GVC and Amaya, the latter of which already owns PokerStars and Full Tilt.