PokerStars and FanDuel Joining Forces in the US + Ontario - Good for Poker or a Bad Sign

CRStals · Mar 4, 2026

It was announced yesterday on X that PokerStars and FanDuel would be joining forces, merging two of the biggest online gaming names together under one roof. Details are sparse right now, but digging into it slightly, it looks like PokerStars will be paused for sometime, but FanDuel Casino will launch soon, with the updated poker client coming shortly thereafter.

The positives seem to be a focus on the US regulated gaming market, promising bigger tournaments, loftier guarantees and more action
The downside might be a plateau of the US poker market and this could be a signal that the online brand might be bleeding money as more is shifting to gambling and sports betting.

For us - the poker player - what side of this fence are you on?

Good for poker?
Leaves a lot of questions about the state of poker going forward

hardongear · Mar 5, 2026

As a 20+ year loyal and mainly Pokerstars player who never had a single issue with Pokerstars in those 20+ years I think it sucks ass. As a losing a long term relationship with anyone/something you can trust always sucks ass.

Is this good for poker? No one truly knows and no one will know the real answer till we see what Fan duel's poker site looks like, how they handle things and what new promotions they add.

For me personally thou this sucks ass as no promotion they can offer or anything they can do will or can replace the trust and security I felt dealing with Pokerstars for 20+ years without a single issue.

Cheers!!!

fundiver199 · Mar 5, 2026

CRStals said:
Details are sparse right now, but this was posted on the PokerStars Ontario website:

If it was posted there, then presumably this is only about the geofenced PokerStars Ontatio site and not the international .com site, where most of us play?

hardongear · Mar 5, 2026

fundiver199 said:
If it was posted there, then presumably this is only about the geofenced PokerStars Ontatio site and not the international .com site, where most of us play?

I hope so cause I just tried and while I can access Fan Duel from Nova Scotia, Canada it won't let me bet(can't get past the location software they use). Can't even use the 20 free spins they gave me for registering lmao. Why even bother letting me register

.

Cheers!!!

millya5 · Mar 5, 2026

I'm just curious to know which countries can play there.

EiXT · Mar 5, 2026

millya5 said:
I'm just curious to know which countries can play there.

I'm curious too!

Currently FanDuel is exclusively available in U.S.A and Canada.
But since they are joining forces with PokerStars and will release FanDuel Casino, maybe they'll expand?

hardongear · Mar 5, 2026

EiXT said:
I'm curious too!

Currently FanDuel is exclusively available in U.S.A and Canada.
But since they are joining forces with PokerStars and will release FanDuel Casino, maybe they'll expand?

Fan Duel is only available in Ontario, Canada. Not Canada wide.

Cheers!!!

odonob · Mar 5, 2026

Interesting, might bring back some freerolls to Pokerstars, will wait in anticipation.

Brigistul · Mar 5, 2026

My opinion is that if the platform will operate only in Canada and the USA, it doesn’t look very promising for the rest of the world.The PokerStars–FanDuel merger might bring bigger tournaments and better guarantees for US players, but it also raises many questions!If PokerStars is shifting under FanDuel’s umbrella and focusing mainly on the US market, the brand may lose part of its identity and lean more toward casino and sports betting rather than poker.For me, it would be a big disappointment, especially since I’ve been active on PokerStars for over 15 years.If the platform shifts only to the US and Canadian markets, it feels like the rest of the players are being left behind. It seems more like a sign that poker is no longer their priority, and that’s sad to see after so many years spent there.
For this merger to truly be an improvement, two things are essential:

-Keeping fast withdrawals, at the level European players have been used to for years.
-Maintaining an active and competitive platform in Europe, not only in North America.
If these two elements disappear, then the change won’t be progress it will be a possible loss for the global poker community.

CRStals · Mar 5, 2026

So after digging into this more, it ONLY impacts USA and Canada. Essentially the regulated poker markets will re-brand and re-launch under the FanDuel brand.

The interesting part of this - it appears the possibility of a merged player pool between all regulated sites is in play, meaning that players in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey AND Ontario, Canada might find themselves in one pool, creating the largest regulated player pool in the world. If true, and not verified yet, could mean interesting things for players in those areas which long term, could be amazing.

I fear the downside is that the casino / sports betting side of Fan Duel will take over long term....but if you play in the global player pool this will not apply to you.

10gerka · Mar 5, 2026

I hope FanDuel isn't just for the US and Canada, but that it can expand; that would be great for everyone.

boxwaxer · Mar 6, 2026

As far as Canada goes,It’s only in Ontario as I’m aware .There is 9 other provinces and 3 territories where it’s not. Hopefully the provincial governments get on board and allow this. Pure self interest in hoping haha

hardongear · Mar 6, 2026

boxwaxer said:
As far as Canada goes,It’s only in Ontario as I’m aware .There is 9 other provinces and 3 territories where it’s not. Hopefully the provincial governments get on board and allow this. Pure self interest in hoping haha

Yes it's ONLY Ontario I wish people would stop saying it's Canada it's NOT it's ONLY Ontario, Canada. Canada has many other provinces. Fan Duel is NOT available Canada wide.

I wish it was and I'm hoping it will become Canada wide as well. All I want is a regulated site, pool of players big enough to get decent MTT GTD's and a big enough player pool to make it worthwhile playing on a site that one can trust that's doesn't do scammy or scummy things. Sadly that seems like way way way to much to ask in 2026. Govt's are so goddam stupid it's amazing.

Cheers!!!

fundiver199 · Mar 6, 2026

CRStals said:
Essentially the regulated poker markets will re-brand and re-launch under the FanDuel brand.

You mean geofenced markets in North America. Here in Europe loads on markets are regulated, and from several of these (Germany, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark etc.) we are playing on international sites with people from the rest of the world. France, Spain and Italy have chosen the same geofencing approach as North America, which I think is extremely bad for online poker.

hardongear · Mar 6, 2026

fundiver199 said:
You mean geofenced markets in North America. Here in Europe loads on markets are regulated, and from several of these (Germany, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark etc.) we are playing on international sites with people from the rest of the world. France, Spain and Italy have chosen the same geofencing approach as North America, which I think is extremely bad for online poker.

Yeah not a fan of geo-fenced/geo-locked poker markets either but sadly online poker is headed that way more and more everyday. Best we as players can hope for is to get big enough geo-fenced player pools to still make playing online poker attractive enough to players. And majority of players like seeing high GTD.....MTT prize pools.

Fwiw I'd love to go back to a truly global player pool like before poker Black Friday happened. But that never coming back sadly.

Cheers!!!

skaterick · Mar 6, 2026

i dont see how this 'merger ' can be good for the poker community in any way .

fundiver199 · Mar 6, 2026

hardongear said:
Yeah not a fan of geo-fenced/geo-locked poker markets either but sadly online poker is headed that way more and more everyday.

Is it? As far as I know, its only a few US states, a few european countries and Ontario, that have gone down that route. So I would say, its still more the exception than the rule. And importantly regulated does not mean geofenced, which was my main point.

hardongear said:
Best we as players can hope for is to get big enough geo-fenced player pools to still make playing online poker attractive enough to players. And majority of players like seeing high GTD.....MTT prize pools.

I dont think, poker players should set the bar that low. I would say, its probably at least as unlikely, that the majority of US states will make online poker legal at all, as it is, that some of the current geofenced markets would be allowed back in the global player pools. Allowing people to play with people from other countries is a much smaller step than allowing them to play at all.

hardongear · Mar 6, 2026

fundiver199 said:
Is it? As far as I know, its only a few US states, a few european countries and Ontario, that have gone down that route. So I would say, its still more the exception than the rule. And importantly regulated does not mean geofenced, which was my main point.

I dont think, poker players should set the bar that low. I would say, its probably at least as unlikely, that the majority of US states will make online poker legal at all, as it is, that some of the current geofenced markets would be allowed back in the global player pools. Allowing people to play with people from other countries is a much smaller step than allowing them to play at all.

And it's just getting started. Some likely never will make legal is likely 100% right I'll agree. "Land of the free" my ass

.

Doesn't matter where the bar is set cause Govt is going to do whatever the hell they want. Same as they do with everything else. In the end a global pool like it use to be isn't very likely. I wish it wasn't the case.

Cheers!!!

Poker Orifice · Mar 7, 2026

hardongear said:
I hope so cause I just tried and while I can access Fan Duel from Nova Scotia, Canada it won't let me bet(can't get past the location software they use). Can't even use the 20 free spins they gave me for registering lmao. Why even bother letting me register .

Cheers!!!

why did you register if it 'sucks a55'?

hardongear · Mar 7, 2026

Poker Orifice said:
why did you register if it 'sucks a55'?

People do things that suck ass everyday. You're question is pretty silly. But I'll humor you.....

It always sucks ass when a good long term relationship comes to an end. Although in this case it seems it won't if we'll still be allowed on Pokerstars international site.

I never said the site sucks ass. Never even seen the sites UI till yesterday when registered after my first comment here. I actually like the sites UI even thou poker hasn't been added yet so the UI will likely change a bit when it does.

I'm also going to live another 25-30 years most likely. Life goes on despite stuff sucking ass. Going to need a place to play till then and see how I've tried every other major site over the years the question really is why wouldn't register...

Cheers!!!

Jyco · Mar 7, 2026

I think what they’re trying to do is move more toward the sports betting sector. The idea is that people who join PokerStars through FanDuel will have more options than just sports betting.

That could bring more people into poker, even if it’s not the main focus of the platform. So the number of players might increase, and at least in that sense, it’s something positive.

EarnDAStack · Mar 8, 2026

I don't think it's necessarily good or bad it's just the way the industry is going.

Gambling, especially sports betting seems to be getting much more prevalent in society. I'm disappointed with that on a human level but on a business level it takes more resources to run a poker client where you'll have a set amount of rake you'll be able to charge to have the games continue to be vibrant, however casino games and especially sports betting have significantly higher margins for the provider, so the pivot or partnership is probably just a mean to that ends.

BetOnline from my view is primarily a sports book that offers a poker client, Stake casino offers a poker client, it's just the next step forward for these companies that don't have the casino money printer strapped as tightly to them. PS even used to give out a free $1 sports bet if you paid rake for a while so it's not like it's a new direction they are more just trying to solidify a revenue stream in a market they don't have much share in by partnering with a well known name.

LUKADONCICMVP · Mar 9, 2026

pokerstars it's been dead for years won't change. once the largest now the smallest. lol

WrongUsername · Mar 9, 2026

they should just close the doors.

99TERRANCE99 · Mar 10, 2026

Less options and more super companies is never better for players ..we don't need more monopolies in anything

PokerStars and FanDuel Joining Forces in the US + Ontario - Good for Poker or a Bad Sign

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