Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of PokerStars, has settled an old case with the commonwealth of Kentucky for $300 million, far less than sought.
At the outset, the commonwealth wanted more than $800 million, for a combination of resident losses on the site and gambling addiction costs. The Kentucky accused PokerStars of offering illegal gambling based on a 300-year-old law. With interest in the intervening years, that amount grew to $1.6 billion. But on September 22, Flutter settled with Kentucky for $300 million, of which the company paid $100 million earlier this year.
Flutter hoped to win the case but suffered legal setbacks before the Kentucky Supreme Court in the last nine months. So, Flutter threw in the towel and now considers the case closed.
In 2015, a lower court ruled against PokerStars then-parent The Stars Group, and the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld that ruling against Flutter last December. Flutter wanted a rehearing and was denied.
Flutter failed to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court in September before deciding to shut the effort down and settle.
