PokerStars Italy Begins Migration of Sisal Players

PokerStars Italy is about to get a whole lot busier thanks to the online poker giant starting to migrate players from Sisal onto its platform. Currently, Sisal’s online poker operations are on the iPoker Network, but they will be part of a Sisal-branded PokerStars Italy Platform. The migration is expected to be completed in time for the €12 million guaranteed Winter Series, which runs from December 25 through to January 21.

Sisal’s Italian online poker players can continue using the same player account management system while enjoying increased liquidity, PokerStars’ renowned Game Integrity protections, and more variants and formats. In addition to being able to compete in the €12 million guaranteed Winter Festival that includes a €1.5 million guaranteed Sunday Million on January 5, Sisal players can get involved with and in:

• The world-famous Sunday Million
• Winter Series
• Micro Millions
• SCOOP/ICOOP Majors
• Huge weekly MTTs including the Night On Stars, Bigs, Hots, Bounty Builders, and more
• Qualify online for PokerStars EPT and PokerStars Open live events
• Carnival Series
• Galactic Series
• A wider variety of cash games

The migration will be completed in time for the upcoming Winter Festival, which includes the aforementioned €1.5 million guaranteed Sunday Million, the largest single tournament guarantee in PokerStars Italy history.

In the first half of 2025, PokerStars plans to add Home Games to the platform, giving players the chance to create private cash games and tournaments. Additionally, in the near future, PokerStars Italy will launch the value-packed Power Path that has proven exceptionally popular on PokerStars dot com.

Flutter Entertainment Acquired Sisal For €1.91 Billion

Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of PokerStars, began the acquisition of Sisal almost precisely three years ago. Flutter agreed to pay €1.91 billion on December 23, 2021, with the deal closing on August 4, 2022.

In addition to online poker, casino games, and sports betting, Sisal is the licensee for the Italian national lottery and those in Morocco and Turkey.

Peter Jackson, Flutter’s CEO, spoke highly of the Italian outfit at the time of the acquisition.

“I am delighted to add Sidal, Italy’s leading gaming brand, to the group as we look to attain a gold medal position in the Italian market. For some time, we have wanted to pursue this market opportunity via an omnichannel strategy, and this acquisition will ideally position us to do so. Sisal has grown its online presence significantly in recent years, aided by its proprietary platform and commitment to innovation. I’m excited to see how Flutter can complement these capabilities through our scale, differentiated products, and operational capabilities.”

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.