ROME, Italy, Oct. 17, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PokerStars today announced the launch of PokerStars.it, which signals a landmark development in building an Italian-only version of the largest online poker site in the world. This addition to the PokerStars family comes days after the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (AAMS) granted PokerStars the license to offer online poker in Italy.
This new license will enable Italian players to play online poker tournaments with real money at PokerStars.it, within the limits imposed by Italian law. PokerStars.it will hold exclusive poker tournaments for Italian players with fees varying from EUR 0.50 to a maximum of EUR 100.00.
"Players on PokerStars.it will have the opportunity to win their entry into famous international poker events such as the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. These competitions require players to have the right mix of skill, training, concentration and luck," said Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri.
The online poker phenomenon is growing rapidly in Italy with the success of players like Team PokerStars Pro Dario and Luca Pagano. Market research indicates that during the first year of online poker being legalized, 500,000 accounts will be opened throughout the Italian poker industry -- creating an estimated EUR 400 million market.
"PokerStars is proud to be entering a flourishing market with this new product," said PokerStars Italian Country Manager Fabio Angeli Bufalini. "This is a ground breaking time for the online poker industry, and it's very exciting that the Italian market is pioneering this move. This also is the start of a global template which could potentially be adopted in other markets internationally in the next few years."
For more information: www.pokerstars.it
About PokerStars:
PokerStars is the world's largest poker room with over 15 million members worldwide, and more free-to-play tables than any other site, At PokerStars.net players learn how to play, and practice poker skills for free. As the premier destination for the top players, with numerous tournaments running every day, PokerStars is renowned for offering the best software and security in the online poker world.
PokerStars:
- Has dealt over 20 billion hands
- Has run more than 100 million poker tournaments
- Entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the first and only poker website to reach the 160,000 simultaneous players mark
PokerStars is the official sponsor of: The European Poker Tour (www.ept.com), PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour (www.lapt.com), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (www.appt.com) and The World Cup of Poker.
PokerStars is the home of Team PokerStars Pro, a group of 30 veteran and up-and-coming players from around the world who play online at PokerStars and are sponsored by the site in international tournaments around the world. For more information please visit http://www.pokerstars.net/.
The PokerStars logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3169
CONTACT: Lotus Public Relations, Matt Clark, 212-922-5885, matt.clark@lotus-pr.com