The two biggest names in poker are coming together this spring to create a gaming powerhouse on the world’s largest online platform
ONCHAN, Isle of Man – February 16 2016 – Full Tilt is joining the award-winning PokerStars platform this spring, pooling the Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA) brands onto one market-leading poker product.
This platform migration will allow Amaya’s development and technology teams to focus on improving one market-leading platform rather than two, leading to a better gaming experience for all; improvements and features will be delivered faster and more efficiently rather than doubling development requirements. For instance, rather than splitting resources developing Full Tilt Jackpot Sit & Go and PokerStars Spin & Go features independently, teams will be able to work together on delivering the best possible product on one platform.
“Players will benefit from a larger pool of players offering greater game choice, bigger prize pools,” said Rafi Ashkenazi, Chief Executive Officer of Rational Group. “It will also make us more nimble as we can focus our technological innovation on one platform, rather than two, so we will be able to innovate more quickly and enter newly-regulating and existing markets swiftly.”
Although Full Tilt continues to be a profitable poker room, the gaming brand’s market share has been in decline since its 2012 re-launch.
Full Tilt players will continue to enjoy the brand experience they love, with the continuation of Full Tilt avatars and innovative rewards, such as The Deal. Players will also enjoy access to a larger variety of games, buy-in levels and tournaments, as well as access to larger prize pools and faster service of games. PokerStars players will also enjoy a boost in liquidity, as well as improved software from a larger and more focused development team.
The migration will result in the elimination of a number of roles in the Company’s Dublin office. Staff who are at-risk have been notified and the company is in the final stages of a formal consultation process to determine the extent of the redundancies and expects to conclude that process in coming months.
One Universal Account Per Person
All Full Tilt players will be contacted directly and will be provided with a link to full and comprehensive information on how these changes will affect them. Once the migration has taken place, players will have one single account that can be used to play on the shared platform through either the PokerStars or Full Tilt branded software. The migration process will automatically identify whether players have an existing PokerStars account and combine the accounts if needed; for those that do, their PokerStars username will take precedence. If a player does not have a PokerStars account they’ll be given the option to keep their screen name - if it’s available - or create a new one.
Full Tilt players will join the PokerStars rewards program, VIP Club, with play on both brands counting towards a combined VIP Club level. Full Tilt will continue to offer The Deal, which features a jackpot that consistently tops $100,000.
To help build awareness of the process, Full Tilt will feature a series of promotions for players, which will include The Deal Jackpot being guaranteed to be at least $100,000 with an additional $2,000 added to every day for the duration of the promotion. In addition, Full Tilt account holders who have never deposited on PokerStars will be able to take advantage of the PokerStars first deposit bonus, worth up to $600 per player.
Dual-Brand Strategy
The brands are committed to a dual-poker brand strategy with Full Tilt and PokerStars. Players will enjoy a choice of PokerStars, Full Tilt and all Stars-family products that are available, depending on jurisdiction. This will give players the benefit of a more robust gaming experience. Full Tilt will retain its own great promotions, table layouts, specialist tournaments and branded differences, such as Rush Poker (instead of Zoom Poker).
Full Tilt Casino is included within the migration process and will be subject to the same automated account changeover process. Initially, Web Casino, Video Poker, Baccarat and Double-Ball Roulette games will not be available, but may be made available at a later date. Full Tilt casino players will benefit from access to additional slots games.
For further information, please contact: press@pokerstars.com or press@ft-services.com
About PokerStars
PokerStars operates the world’s most popular online poker sites, serving the global poker community. Since it launched in 2001, PokerStars has become the first choice of players all over the world, with more daily tournaments than anywhere else and with the best security online. More than 130 billion hands have been dealt on PokerStars, which is more than any other site.
PokerStars.com and PokerStars.eu operate globally under licenses from the Isle of Man and Malta governments, respectively. PokerStars also holds separate government licenses in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
PokerStars is the key brand of Rational Group, which operates gaming-related businesses and brands, including PokerStars, Full Tilt and the European Poker Tour. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Rational Group companies in the UK and Isle of Man won recognition as one of the best workplaces in the UK being awarded a top 25 position by the Great Place to Work Institute’s Best Workplaces – Large category rankings. Rational Group entities in Costa Rica and Dublin also achieved the same accolade in their respective local rankings in 2014. PokerStars is owned by Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA).
About Full Tilt
Full Tilt is a leading gaming brand known for delivering some of the most innovative online poker games in the world. It is home to the revolutionary poker format of ‘Rush Poker’, which offer its players fast-paced, quick-fold gameplay on both desktop and mobile.
There are four Full Tilt licensed sites – FullTilt.com, which serves players in various countries around the world under license from the Isle of Man; FullTilt.eu, which serves players in European markets under license from Malta; and FullTilt.uk and FullTilt.dk which serves players in the United Kingdom and Denmark respectively. In 2014, Full Tilt began expanding its game portfolio by adding a variety of slot offerings and a range of single- and multi-player variations of Blackjack and Roulette.
Full Tilt was relaunched in November 2012 under new ownership of Rational Group, which also operates PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Rational Group companies in the UK and Isle of Man won recognition as one of the best workplaces in the UK, being awarded a top 25 position by the Great Place to Work Institute’s Best Workplaces – Large category rankings. Rational Group entities in Costa Rica and Dublin also achieved the same accolade in their respective local rankings in 2014. Full Tilt is owned by Amaya Inc. (Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA).