PokerStars

PokerStars sister sites include Sky Poker, Sky Vegas, Paddy Power, Betfair, Tombola and more.
Pokerstars Uk (pokerstars.uk) is operated by Stars Interactive Limited of Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Road, Onchan, Isle Of Man, IM3 1DZ.

PokerStars Sister Sites 2024

Strictly speaking, there aren’t any PokerStars sister sites. This is the only brand that’s owned and operated by Stars Interactive Limited in the eyes of the UK Gambling Commission. However, that interpretation doesn’t tell the whole story. Stars Interactive Limited is, in turn, owned by Flutter Entertainment Plc – one of the biggest iGaming companies in the world. Flutter Entertainment Plc owns titanic brands like Betfair, Paddy Power and more, meaning that there are more sites on this iGaming network than meet the eye.

Betfair

Betfair is one of the most comprehensive betting websites in the world. You may think it might not be much use to you as a member of the PokerStars sister sites family if you’re looking for somewhere else to play poker, but you’d be wrong – there’s a lot more to Betfair than sports betting. Like most big-name sports betting brands, Betfair is now an iGaming behemoth offering access to just about anything you might want to place a wager on, and that includes poker. Not only can you play poker at Betfair but you can also play bingo and indulge in the expansive Betfair casino. For the majority of players, though, the star of the show at Betfair is its colossal betting exchange, which is almost universally considered the best of its kind in the business. If you like the style of Betfair, there’s almost no reason to ever go anywhere else.

Paddy Power

Paddy Power might be one of the UK’s biggest sports betting brands, but that’s about all it has in common with Betfair. There’s so much tonal difference between Paddy Power and Betfair that it’s hard to believe that both of them are PokerStars sister sites. Not only are they sister sites, though, but they have a closer relationship than any other pair of PokerStars sister sites on this entire network. It was the union between Betfair and Paddy Power – a multi-billion pound merger – that laid the foundations for what would become Flutter Entertainment Plc. Paddy Power is the yin to Betfair’s yang, and is best known for its many cheeky publicity campaigns – some of which have drawn the ire of the press and the regulator. Paddy Power is never afraid of taking a risk, and if you’re not afraid of taking a risk either you can bet on poker, casino games and sports to your heart’s content with this famous brand.

Sky Vegas

Sky Vegas, which can be thought of as the glamour brand of the PokerStars sister sites, offers a unique blend of entertainment and rewards. The casino’s welcome offer is particularly noteworthy, providing fifty “seriously” free spins with no deposit or wagering requirements. If you decide to deposit £10, you’ll get an additional 200 free spins, again with no wagering requirements. Sky Vegas also offers time-limited promotions like “The Prize Machine,” a daily spin-to-win game, and “The Vault,” a weekly challenge with potential cash prizes up to £30,000. However, the casino falls short in its games portfolio, offering fewer than 500 games, and its customer support is not easily accessible. Payment options are limited to debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay on certain networks. Despite these drawbacks, the casino’s no-wagering promotions set it apart from competitors, making it a compelling choice for those who value generous bonuses. There’s no poker here, but we can fix that for you with our next site.

Sky Poker

Of all the PokerStars sister sites we’re listing for you, Sky Poker is the most obvious equivalent. Both Paddy Power and Betfair offer poker, but they don’t specialise it in the same way that Sky Poker does. It’s one of the oldest poker sites in the UK and it looks its age in a few aspects of its design, but don’t let that become a reason to underestimate it. Whether you want to check out the Sky Poker Academy as a newcomer to the game or “Sit & Go” at one of its many tournaments, Sky Poker has you covered. The homepage of Sky Poker promises that getting set up with the site is as simple as registering and then playing, which means there’s a difference between this site and the many sites out there that still require players to download special software before they start playing poker. It’s not quite the all-singing, all-dancing poker brand that PokerStars is, but there’s plenty to like about it.

Tombola

Tombola claims to have over fifty years of experience. That’s a somewhat controversial claim, and its veracity depends on some questionable interpretation of the origin of the company that founded it, but what we can’t dispute is its claim to be one of the top bingo sites in the UK. In fact, Tombola specifically claims to be the UK’s biggest casino platform. We’re sure that both Mecca Bingo and Gala Bingo would have things to say about that, but the numbers don’t lie. Tombola prides itself on two things – exclusivity and great customer experiences. The two things go hand in hand, with all the bingo games at Tombola being developed in-house and strictly exclusive to the platform. As the winner of multiple EGR Awards, Tombola has demonstrated that it’s more than capable of walking it like it talks it. It’s the most unique of our PokerStars sister sites, and offers you something entirely unlike the experience that awaits you at the others we’ve mentioned.

Can PokerStars Be Trusted?

★★★★★

PokerStars is a 3 Star trusted casino.

1. UKGC License	PokerStars is covered by UK Gambling Commission licence 39108, which is held by Stars Interactive Limited.
2. UKGC Fines	There are no fines or other sanctions attached to this operator’s licence.
3. Customer Service	Live chat support, albeit limited if you’re not signed into your account. Telephone assistance isn’t available.
4. Trustpilot Score	After over 200 reviews, PokerStars holds a miserable score of 1.3 out of 5.0 on Trustpilot.
5. Company Location	Stars Interactive Limited is based in Douglas on the Isle of Man.
6. Visible Promo T&C’s	The terms and conditions of the promotions listed on the PokerStars website are unclear.
7. Social Media Presence	There are active accounts for this site on X.com/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more.
8. Number of Sister Sites	Strictly speaking there are no PokerStars sister sites, but the site is connected to many others via its parent company Flutter Entertainment Plc.
9. Games portfolio	As a poker specialist, PokerStars shouldn’t be evaluated on the number of casino games that it offers, but the casino attached to the site is large.
10. Gamstop links	GamStop’s clickable logo can be found close to the bottom of the PokerStars homepage, but is smaller than we’d like it to be.
Overall SCORE >	★★★★★ – 3/5 Stars

PokerStars Review 2024

PokerStars might just be the most glamorous online poker brand in the whole world, known for its connections to sporting megastars and celebrities like the Brazilian footballer Neymar. However, it’s never been quite as popular in the UK as it has been in other parts of the world. That’s reflected in the fact that all cash amounts are listed in dollars by default on the PokerStars website, with pounds sterling equivalents found in the small print. Are we missing a trick in the UK by not paying more attention to PokerStars? Let’s find out.

PokerStars Welcome Promotions

The situation with the PokerStars welcome promotion is very much emblematic of the situation we described above. New players at the site are promised a 100% cash bonus of up to $600. It’s only when checking the small print that we find it’s capped at £400 for players in the UK – and reaching the full amount isn’t as easy as you might hope for it to be. Players must first deposit at least £10 and start playing poker. From there, they earn five “redemption points” for every £1 paid in rake on cash or tournament games. For every 75 “redemption points” earned, players receive a £5 bonus credit. To get the full £600, players must bring in the requisite number of points within four months of joining PokerStars. It’s far more convoluted than it needs to be.

Other Promotions

The complicated nature of the PokerStars welcome bonus sets the tone for the rest of the promotions at the site. There are six “PokerStars Rewards” levels, with a different “treasure chest” awarded at each level. The higher the chest level, the better the quality of the rewards inside it. Players get one hundred “reward points” for every £1 paid in fees for tournaments or paid in rake for poker games, or one reward point for every £1 spent on sports betting. The conversion rate for playing casino games isn’t clear. To get a blue chest – the lowest level – players need 333 reward points. To get a black chest, which is the highest level, players need 100,000 reward points. The value of the bonuses in the black chest is calculated at £250. In the blue chest, it’s just 50p. There are multiple reward levels between the two, but like the welcome bonus, it’s all just a little bit too complicated.

Pros and Cons of PokerStars

Pros:

Aside from having a reputation as a “glamour site,” PokerStars offers the full smorgasbord of big-money poker games, casino games and sports betting. The massive prize pots attached to the games at PokerStars are unlikely to be equalled at many of the other poker sites you may have visited in the past. It’s possible that the long-term reward promotions could be lucrative if you can work out how they operate.

Cons:

The bonuses and promotions are far more complicated than they need to be and are likely beyond the comprehension of some players. Customer support is limited to live chat only, and even then, you need to be logged into your account to use it properly. Withdrawals can take a week or more to process. These are all surprising flaws for a site of such repute to have.

Top Games at PokerStars

We’re not going to go into the ins and outs of the top casino games at PokerStars Casino – that’s why we have an entirely separate page for it, which you’re welcome to check out. We’re also not going to focus on the PokerStars sportsbook because although it’s great that the site has one, it’s not really the point of the site. Instead, we’re going to talk about what PokerStars is known best for – its poker rooms and poker tournaments.

Whether you’re looking for No Limited Hold’em or specialities like Spin & Go poker, PokerStars has options for you. You can play poker against real players while seeing them face-to-face via webcam. PokerStars even makes it possible to play poker via Twitch. What PokerStars is really known for, though, is its tournaments. The site claims to run the biggest poker tournaments in the world, and based on the evidence, we can’t disagree. From the Sunday Million games to the Knockout Poker tournaments and the sports-themed PokerStars Kick-Off, this is a site that’s found a way to serve you the same game in one hundred different ways and still make it entertaining. That’s not to mention that if you can ace the tables at the PokerStars website, you could find yourself invited to play at real-world tournaments.

Withdrawal Processing & Support

When it comes to choice, the situation with withdrawals at PokerStars is good. When it comes to speed, it’s anything but. You can carry out transactions with PokerStars using your debit card, your e-wallet (Skrill, PayPal, Neteller, and MuchBetter are all supported), Apple Pay, Google Pay and even old-fashioned wire transfers. However, PokerStars insists on a pending period of up to 72 hours to consider all withdrawal requests. Worse still, it might take between two and five business days beyond that to get your money to you. We’re not aware of any reason why this should be the case, and again, a brand of PokerStars’ repute should be moving much faster.

Customer Services & Licensing

Customer support is another area of weakness for PokerStars. There isn’t a telephone number to call, and we couldn’t even find an email address on the website. The site offers a detailed live chat service with real people so long as you’re logged into your account, but if you can’t log in – which is one of the most common reasons for people to seek assistance – you’ll have to dig through the FAQ section until you’re offered a contact option, which will be a bot-led chat service. It’s weak. As for the site’s licence – that’s UK Gambling Commission licence 39108, as held by Stars Interactive Limited. The same licence would cover all of the PokerStars sister sites if it had any.

PokerStars – The Verdict

Oh dear – there’s quite a lot wrong here. Seeing the welcome bonus listed in dollars is immediately off-putting when you’re a UK-based player, and then trying to work out how to extract the maximum value from the welcome promotion is likely to give you a headache. The other promotions at the site, carefully structured though they are, are no less likely to confuse you. The standard of customer care the site provides isn’t up to scratch, and PokerStars takes far too long to process withdrawals. We’re amazed such weaknesses exist at a brand that’s so well-known for its flashy big-money tournaments, but unless money’s your only motivation and you’re happy to put up with all these shortcomings, there are better poker sites out there for you than this one.

What are players saying about PokerStars?

Here are our condensed / reader’s digest summaries of recent player reviews of PokerStars.

• 4-Sept-2023 by Charlie:
  I deposited £100 to get an instant £100 bonus, but I never received it. This is absolutely shocking and feels like a joke. – source: Trustpilot
• 3-Sept-2023 by Eddie:
  Whether you’re using a phone or a high-end PC with fast internet, the website is laggy and slow. It’s practically unusable. – source: Trustpilot
• 29-Aug-2023 by Ebayer:
  If you enjoy paying a lot of rake, then PokerStars is the site for you. – source: Trustpilot
• 27-Aug-2023 by JH:
  The tech is terrible. I can’t even get past the verification process, which is stuck on a loading screen. Customer support is unhelpful, and it makes me question how they can run the poker side of the business if they can’t even get the basics right. – source: Trustpilot
• 17-Aug-2023 by Peter:
  They ask for an excessive amount of documentation for verification, and even when you provide it, they ask for more. – source: Trustpilot
• 29-Jul-2023 by John:
  I’ve been playing for over five years and find the site good for low-stakes play. I’ve had some tech issues, but generally, withdrawals and deposits are smooth. Customer service could be better. – source: Trustpilot
• 23-Jun-2023 by Francesca:
  They refused to pay me £3600 despite multiple proofs of identity and address. They even claimed my driving license was fake. I’m considering legal action and involving the Gambling Commission. – source: Trustpilot
• 29-Apr-2023 by DD:
  They’ve removed all my special offers and rakeback because I won a significant amount. I question the legality of this action. – source: Trustpilot
• 15-Apr-2023 by Jose:
  This site is terrible. Don’t waste your money here. – source: Trustpilot
• 1-Apr-2023 by Cameron:
  They’ve confiscated nearly £4000 from me, citing a ban for ‘responsible gaming’. Even though my account was fully verified, they’ve essentially stolen my money. – source: Trustpilot