Bet PokerStars rues the day it set up shop in Kentucky. And Flutter Entertainment PLC may rue the day it bought PokerStars after Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate told the U.K.-based gambling company to surrender $100 million in secured bonds.
The funds are a mere down payment on a judgment that is hurtling towards $1.6 billion and climbing.
PokerStars previous owner, Amaya Gaming, posted the bond in 2016 as part of its appeal of $870 million decision related to the poker company’s alleged illegal dealings. Wingate first issued a ruling against PokerStars in 2015, only to see the Kentucky appellate court overturn the decision only to see it reversed by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Meantime, interest has accrued at more than $500,000 a day. PokerStars next move is to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Whether the court agrees to hear the case is anyone’s guess, according to Cardschat.
Flutter asserts other remedies remain. Either way, Kentucky faces an uphill climb collecting as the commonwealth would have to take the issue to the U.K. where different rules may make it more difficult to get the money due.
“The statute in the United Kingdom treats the entire judgment as void and unenforceable,” Flutter’s Kentucky counsel Sheryl Snyder told the court.
That possibility may prompt both sides to seek common ground to settle.
