PokerStars owner Amaya Inc. is looking to enter India’s online market with its 1.2 billion mobile users.
The company hopes to attract a local partner and reach at least half that market, which it estimates could reach $150 million in revenue, Bloomberg News reports.
“It’s a booming country,” Chief Executive Officer Rafi Ashkenazi told reporters after its annual meeting in Montreal. “We want to be there in time and we want to make sure that we are, as usual, the market leader when it comes to poker.”
Amaya is currently exiting the Australian market due to regulatory issues there, and Bloomberg reports it is looking to India—and possibly new U.S. states that approve online gambling—to help offset the loss. India has not completely legalized online gambling, several Indian states have given licenses to online poker companies and classified poker as a game of skill.
The company’s chief operating officer is currently in India to finalize details of the agreement with an unnamed local partner that is already licensed. The deal will give PokerStars access to all of India except “a couple” of states, Ashkenazi said.
Amaya is soon to become The Stars Group and will move its headquarters to Toronto from Montreal. Shareholders approved the name change and move at the annual meeting. Ashkenazi said the name change comes after a difficult year for Amaya that has left the name tainted.
Amaya’s former CEO and founder David Baazov is still facing insider trading charges in Canada stemming from Amaya’s 2014 acquisition of PokerStars.
In another matter, PokerStars NJ announced it has launched 21 new slot games in partnership with NextGen Gaming, the NYX Gaming Group’s independent game studio.
The games can be played on desktop or mobile device and are the first to launch at the PokerStars Casino NJ by the Open Gaming System of the NYX Gaming Group, the company said in a press release. The release also marks NextGen’s first foray into the New Jersey market.
