A brand new offering
Flutter Entertainment-owned PokerStars has added an extra global community-focused dimension to its portfolio by launching a peer-to-peer online betting platform, the PokerStars Exchange.
platform rolled out Thursday
The platform rolled out Thursday on the brand’s PokerStars.com website, along with its EU-suffixed counterpart. PokerStars Blog shared news of its launch via Twitter:
According to an official press release, PokerStars Exchange utilizes Flutter technology to give PokerStars players access to the “same global liquidity pool as Betfair,” the world’s largest online betting exchange.
The new platform gives the millions of global PokerStars players a significant variety of sports wagering markets to bet on, and the option to buy and sell bets against other players.
Customers can access the new product via an exchange tab on PokerStars Sports websites. As of Friday, however, PokerStars Exchange has not appeared on the brand’s UK website.
A ready market
Flutter stated in a press release that the platform offers more attractive odds than traditional sportsbooks. This arises from the peer-to-peer functionality of PokerStars Exchange, where customers act as bookmakers and set their own odds for other customers to bet on.
Flutter has done its homework too. PokerStars’ director of product, Richard Garrod, said his firm’s research found PokerStars customers would welcome the roll-out of an exchange product. Garrod explained:
70% of current sports bettors […] want to get involved.”
The PokerStars exec also talked up the attraction of a new sports wagering experience tied to a global community of sports fans, with the added appeal of a single account login and wallet.
“We’re always looking at ways to bring PokerStars players something new, and to be able to do that in collaboration with [Betfair Exchange] is a huge privilege,” he said.
Long time coming?
Garrod added that the new platform’s debut Thursday came after “months of hard work and execution.”
Co-founder of Pokerfuse, Nick Jones, has suggested that the plan has been in the pipeline for a long time. Via Twitter Thursday, Jones pointed out that PokerStars Exchange was in Flutter’s sights as far back as 2019, following the merger of Flutter and The Stars Group.