A Kentucky appeals court has overturned a judgment of $870 million plus interest for the state against PokerStars.
The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet sued the company saying 34,000 people in the state lost $240 million in illegal wagers on the website between 2006 and 2011. In 2015, a state judge ruled PokerStars had to pay back three times the amount plus interest.
A three-judge panel on the Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned that judgment saying Kentucky’s government does not have the legal right to sue to recover the money.
Justice and Public Safety Cabinet spokesman Mike Wynn said officials are disappointed and will appeal to the state Supreme Court.
In another matter, PokerStars has announced a marketing partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship in the latest matching of a gambling firm and a professional sports league.
The Stars Group, owners of PokerStars, said the sponsorship will include branding, social and other media content, and wider promotional collaborations.
“UFC and PokerStars have a lot in common,” Stars Interactive Chief Marketing Officer Christopher Coyne said in a press statement. “We want to thrill and entertain, both in our products and customer experience. UFC is the world’s leading MMA promoter with millions of fans and followers around the globe. PokerStars is the heavyweight of online poker. It’s a classic combination.”
According to the release, UFC broadcasts reach over 1 billion households worldwide and are shown in over 40 languages.
The release does mention that The Stars Group, through its BetStars brand, does offer sports betting on UFC matches, but does not outline a potential sports betting partnership. BetStars has been approved for sports betting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The UFC does not have an official sports betting partner for the U.S. market, but this summer it joined with Parimatch for sports betting in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2016, the UFC partnered with Tabcorp for Australia sports betting. In 2014, the UFC partnered with Unibet in the UK.
The UFC also has a marketing deal with DraftKings—which has launched its own sports book brand—for daily fantasy sports, but the agreement does not cover sports betting.
