Hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits can drag on for years. And recently, Flutter Entertainment was smitten with the fine they inherited by acquiring The Stars Group. The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled to fine PokerStars almost $1.3 billion. Of this, $870 million is a fine, and the rest is interest accrued over five years, at 12% per year.
The court decision that Amaya Gaming (the former owner of PokerStars) should compensate the state for $870 million was made back in 2015. It was due to the fact that PokerStars illegally served residents of Kentucky from 2006 to 2011.
In 2018, PokerStars was bought by The Stars Group, which appealed and won. The decision was cancelled. But on December 17, 2020, the now Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the initial $870 million fine would only partially offset the damage that the poker room had done to the state in general and the residents of the state in particular. In its opinion, the court called PokerStars a criminal syndicate.
In May of this year, Flutter Entertainment bought The Stars Group, and they inherited this mega debt, plus 12% for each year after the original court decision. The state governor welcomed the decision and noted that this compensation will help them cope with the consequences of the coronavirus.
The PokerStars founder himself recently decided to turn himself in to US authorities after nine years on the run and arrested in Switzerland. He pleaded guilty to organizing illegal gambling and paid only a $30,000 fine.
