PokerStars Leaves China, Taiwan

PokerStars owner Flutter Entertainment has announced that they've decided to pull their brands out of the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Macau markets in an effort to pull out of unregulated markets.

The move comes as Flutter takes over brands from The Stars Group, with whom they merged in May. The company announced their first half financials, and during that time they committed to improving operations on all sides of their umbrella. The decision to pull out of the unregulated trio of markets will see PokerStars trying to stay on the good side of the law, and hopefully launch at some point down the road if laws change in each country.

Explaining the decision a Flutter spokesperson said, "As confirmed in our interim results statement last week we have been reviewing the compliance standards and market exposures of the combined group following our transaction. While we are yet to fully complete our review, we have identified areas where improvements need to be made."

It's expected that the pullout will cost PokerStars around £65 million in revenues.