Ifrah Law’s Jeff Ifrah On The Public Acquisition of PokerStars

Online gambling proponents hope that having PokerStars back in the game will mean an upswing for the industry in the U.S.

Washington, D.C. - March 8, 2018 /MarketersMedia/ —

Gaming attorney Jeff Ifrah, known for his legal expertise in the field of online betting and gambling, believes the potential new owners of online poker community PokerStars means a coming boom in the internet gambling economy. Last week the Wall Street Journal reported on plans by Amaya Gaming Group Inc., a Montreal-based producer of gaming machines and systems, to buy PokerStars, the largest online poker operator in the world. According to the WSJ, Amaya Gaming will be paying $4.9 billion to take over privately held Oldford Group Ltd., parent company of Rational Group Ltd. that owns the PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. For PokerStars this acquisition will open a possibility to regain a foothold in the U.S. market where the company has been blocked since 2011 due to a decision by the Department of Justice.

Online gambling proponents hope that having PokerStars back in the game will mean an upswing for the industry in the U.S., which has been unexpectedly slow despite the legalization in the states of Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. According to analysts, New Jersey has only generated between $130 million and $150 million last year, considerably less than what experts had expected. Part of the problem could be the fact that some leading banks in the United States are hesitant to let their customers use credit cards for online games, fearing regulatory risks. Another issue, in the opinion of iGaming experts, is the absence of PokerStars on the market. “You can't create a market without PokerStars, period,” Jeff Ifrah, a litigator, who regularly represents PokerStars, told the Wall Street Journal.

Other experts and attorneys assess the situation more gloomily and expect that PokerStars, regardless of the change of ownership, will have to fight some battles before it can secure approvals, which will allow them to re-enter the market in the United States. On top of that, commercial giants are lobbying for strict “bad actor” provisions in the proposed legislation in an attempt to prevent their rival from coming back into the game. Jeff Ifrah is not too concerned about this development though: “They're going to have to go back to the table because I don't think it's going to work to argue that there's any taint to these assets. ... From a practical perspective, there really is no basis in existing or future bad-actor clauses to keep out PokerStars — or really, Amaya,” Ifrah says.

Jeff Ifrah is the founding member of Ifrah PLLC, a law firm specializing in iGaming, headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in MD, VA and Atlantic City. Together with his team of renowned attorneys at Ifrah Law, he represents many major iGaming companies and industry associations in the world, amongst them online poker sites PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, as well as the Interactive Gaming Council, a non-profit organization that represents iGaming companies across countries all over the globe. Two characteristics uniquely qualify Ifrah Law to represent iGaming companies: Substantial experience in both criminal defense and civil litigation and knowledge of the industry and the people who work in it. Through the representation of online gaming businesses over a number of years, they have acquired an in-depth understanding of the industry. That understanding is the key to their ability to craft solutions that meet their client’s goals. Jeff was named to the Gaming Intelligence Magazine Hot 50 List. He serves on the editorial board of the World Online Gambling Report and is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law.

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