Editor’s note: This article was originally published on March 3, 2026, and updated on May 5, 2026. Subsequently, PokerStars Exclusively on FanDuel launched in Ontario on June 5, 2026.
Ontario online poker enthusiasts will soon be able to play with one of the most iconic poker brands on one of the biggest sportsbook and casino platforms in the province.
PokerStars and FanDuel owner Flutter is uniting the two renowned brands under the FanDuel name in Ontario and its three operational U.S. markets, as confirmed by the poker company on Tuesday, March 3.
PokerStars’ existing Ontario platform will stop offering play on Thursday, May 7, and will be replaced in due course by PokerStars Exclusively on FanDuel.
A new era for an iconic poker brand
PokerStars Exclusively on FanDuel already launched with a three-state player pool in Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania on April 1.
On May 4, PokerStars confirmed that its existing licensed platform in Ontario will stop offering online poker, casino, and sports as of May 7. Accounts will remain accessible until June 4, at which point all remaining funds will be returned by cheque.
As of the time of that X post, there is no confirmed final launch date for the new FanDuel-integrated version in Ontario. PokerStars noted that “this requires a short period where the PokerStars tables will close down ahead of relaunch and to ensure we’re fulfilling regulatory requirements.”
Essentially, it will add another major string to FanDuel’s bow in Ontario, adding peer-to-peer online poker to the online sports betting and online casino it already offers in the province.
The move also comes as FanDuel gears up to enter the Alberta iGaming market, which is set to launch on July 13. FanDuel has been approved for a license to offer sports betting and online casino in Alberta; PokerStars may now be a part of their long-term plans in that province, too.
PokerStars and FanDuel are teaming up to launch PokerStars in Ontario exclusively on FanDuel.
— PokerStars Ontario (@PokerStarsON) March 3, 2026
See our InfoHub: https://t.co/MUMpohMYTO pic.twitter.com/5e9lSQdaZ2
PokerStars to share brand, account, wallet with FanDuel
A FanDuel spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business that PokerStars on FanDuel will create “a best-in-class poker experience.” PokerStars will be available through a dedicated FanDuel-run poker app and desktop site and will be accessible through existing or new FanDuel accounts, just as customers can access both FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Casino through one login and one wallet already.
Once the transition completes, PokerStars’ existing Ontario-facing platform will go offline and a FanDuel account will be required to play PokerStars in the province. FanDuel will hand out welcome offers both for new PokerStars sign-ups on FanDuel and also existing PokerStars customers.
PokerStars is one of the best-renowned brands in online poker, with an operational history of nearly a quarter of a century. It is a licensed online gaming operator in Ontario’s regulated online gambling market, approved to offer not only online poker but also sports betting and casino.
Now, it will combine forces with FanDuel, which is the U.S. sports betting market leader and holds a strong position in Ontario in both sports wagering and online casino. FanDuel will likely see potential for cross-selling customers from sports betting and casino to poker, and vice versa.
But no cross-border play… for now
That advantage for FanDuel will likely be bigger in the U.S. than in Ontario, though. The American side of the PokerStars integration includes a notable geographic expansion, as players in Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be able to play against each other in one shared-liquidity pool.
In Ontario, the revamped FanDuel-contained PokerStars will not have that luxury.
While those states and five others share the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), peer-to-peer online poker play in Ontario remains fenced within provincial borders. So, the Ontario PokerStars site will remain segregated on FanDuel as it is now on its own platform, with no shared liquidity with either U.S. players or users outside of North America on PokerStars’ global network.
That may change in the future, pending a legal challenge in the Supreme Court of Canada by multiple Canadian lotteries.
After the Ontario Court of Appeal issued an opinion in November 2025 that it would be lawful under the Criminal Code for Ontario to let players of P2P real-money online games compete with players in other countries, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation appealed the decision in Canada’s highest court. Loto-Quebec has since joined the appeal.
PokerStars owner Flutter is an intervening party in that Supreme Court appeal, having supported the idea of cross-border play in the Ontario court question. Along with GGPoker and World Series of Poker (WSOP) owner NSUS, the Canadian Gaming Association and the government of Ontario, Flutter hoped that cross-border play would be legal.
Ontario’s ring-fenced P2P player status also applies to paid-entry daily fantasy sports (DFS), a historically important vertical for FanDuel in which it has no Ontario footprint. It means that the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings, and PrizePicks see little point in seeking to offer real-money DFS in Ontario.
Poker a tiny drop in Ontario’s ocean
The lack of shared liquidity for online poker limits the competitive and financial appeal for players in the province who enjoy playing against other people online, even though some of the biggest-name platforms within the vertical are licensed and regulated in Ontario, such as PokerStars, GGPoker, BetMGM Poker and 888poker. Other platforms are available outside of the regulated market, including the World Poker Tour’s ClubWPT Gold sweepstakes-style platform, which launched in most of Canada last year.
The lack of liquidity also means that, on a consistent month-by-month basis, P2P online poker is nowhere near as lucrative in Ontario as it might be if things were different.
While iGO reported almost $9.56n in regulated online gambling handle for March 2026, only $183m of that was wagered on P2P poker, equating to less than 2% of the total provincial iGaming market. Ontario’s licensed operators made $6.9m in gross gaming revenue from P2P poker in January, compared to $61.6m from sports betting and more than $318.5m from online slots, table games, and live casino gaming.
