SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Stars Group has unveiled the date of its Indian debut, set to be made in conjunction with Sugal & Damani Group, beginning on April 17.
PokerStars.IN is to be available across the majority of the nations states, on the mobile and desktop variants, affording the majority of the adult Indian population online poker in Indian Rupees.
With the new site set to offer a number of formats, such as No-Limit Hold’em and Omaha, it has also been detailed that a variety of localised versions of branded series and events, including The Sunday Million and World Championship on Online Poker, will be hosted.
Rafi Ashkenazi, Chief Executive Officer of The Stars Group, commented: “PokerStars has helped to make poker one of the most popular skill-based games in the world and we look forward to Sachiko Gaming introducing the brand into the Indian market.”
Sachike Gaming Pvt Ltd, an organisation that focuses on games of skill and form part of the Sugal & Damani Group portfolio, will operate PokerStars.IN, with The Stars Group licensing its brand and providing support services.
Kamlesh Vijay, Chief Executive Officer of Sugal & Damani Group, added: “The popularity of poker in India is growing and we are excited to build the market with the support of the global leader in online poker.”
In its statement, The Stars Group detailed that its new Indian PokerStars site will offer “industry-leading responsible gaming, player protection and fraud detection mechanisms to help ensure the integrity of games and the safety of players. In line with local regulations, players residing in Indian states which do not permit participation in real money skill games will be prevented from playing”.
PokerStars has increasingly stated a desire to enter the Indian market, previously announcing it would begin operations by the close of 2017, as well as estimating that the nations poker market would be valued at $150 million per year and growing.
