According to Online-Casinos.com, Amaya Gambling from Montreal, Canada has acquired the largest online poker room in the world, Poker Stars. The Isle of Man-based business, operating as the Rational Group Ltd., agreed to be acquired by Amaya Gaming Group Inc. for an estimated $4.9 billion dollars.
Rational Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Mark Scheinberg owns a reported 75% of the company.
With approximately 85 million registered users, the company has no debt and has been growing steadily. Rational Group produced $420 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on revenue of $1.1 billion last year.
Scheinberg stated: “I am incredibly proud of the business Isai and I have built over the past 14 years creating the world’s biggest poker company and a leader in the iGaming space.”
On Black Friday in 2011, Isai Scheinberg and ten other principals at three online gambling companies were charged with bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. Rational Group agreed in 2012 to pay $731 million to settle the charges with the Department of Justice, without admitting wrongdoing.
Isai Scheinberg remains under indictment in the U.S. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amaya, David Baazov based in Pointe-Claire, said that he is confident U.S. regulators will consider Poker Stars differently under new ownership. “Amaya is licensed in many jurisdictions, over 80 worldwide. This will be worked out on a state-by- state basis,” Baazov commented
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