PokerStars
PokerStars sister sites include Sky Poker, Sky Vegas, Paddy Power, Betfair, Tombola and more.
Pokerstars Uk (pokerstars.uk) is operated by Stars Interactive Limited of Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Road, Onchan, Isle Of Man, IM3 1DZ.
PokerStars Sister Sites 2026
Strictly speaking, there aren’t any PokerStars sister sites. This is the only brand that’s owned and operated by Stars Interactive Limited in the eyes of the UK Gambling Commission. However, that interpretation doesn’t tell the whole story. Stars Interactive Limited is, in turn, owned by Flutter Entertainment Plc – one of the biggest iGaming companies in the world. Flutter Entertainment Plc owns titanic brands like Betfair, Paddy Power and more, meaning that there are more sites on this iGaming network than meet the eye.
Betfair
Betfair is one of the most comprehensive betting websites in the world. You may think it might not be much use to you as a member of the PokerStars sister sites family if you’re looking for somewhere else to play poker, but you’d be wrong – there’s a lot more to Betfair than sports betting. Like most big-name sports betting brands, Betfair is now an iGaming behemoth offering access to just about anything you might want to place a wager on, and that includes poker. Not only can you play poker at Betfair but you can also play bingo and indulge in the expansive Betfair casino. For the majority of players, though, the star of the show at Betfair is its colossal betting exchange, which is almost universally considered the best of its kind in the business. If you like the style of Betfair, there’s almost no reason to ever go anywhere else.
Paddy Power
Paddy Power might be one of the UK’s biggest sports betting brands, but that’s about all it has in common with Betfair. There’s so much tonal difference between Paddy Power and Betfair that it’s hard to believe that both of them are PokerStars sister sites. Not only are they sister sites, though, but they have a closer relationship than any other pair of PokerStars sister sites on this entire network. It was the union between Betfair and Paddy Power – a multi-billion pound merger – that laid the foundations for what would become Flutter Entertainment Plc. Paddy Power is the yin to Betfair’s yang, and is best known for its many cheeky publicity campaigns – some of which have drawn the ire of the press and the regulator. Paddy Power is never afraid of taking a risk, and if you’re not afraid of taking a risk either, you can bet on poker, casino games and sports to your heart’s content with this famous brand.
Sky Vegas
Sky Vegas, which can be thought of as the glamour brand of the PokerStars sister sites, offers a unique blend of entertainment and rewards. The casino’s welcome offer is particularly noteworthy, providing fifty “seriously” free spins with no deposit or wagering requirements. If you decide to deposit £10, you’ll get an additional 200 free spins, again with no wagering requirements. Sky Vegas also offers time-limited promotions like “The Prize Machine,” a daily spin-to-win game, and “The Vault,” a weekly challenge with potential cash prizes up to £30,000. However, the casino falls short in its games portfolio, offering fewer than 500 games, and its customer support is not easily accessible. Payment options are limited to debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay on certain networks. Despite these drawbacks, the casino’s no-wagering promotions set it apart from competitors, making it a compelling choice for those who value generous bonuses. There’s no poker here, but we can fix that for you with our next site.
Sky Poker
Of all the PokerStars sister sites we’re listing for you, Sky Poker is the most obvious equivalent. Both Paddy Power and Betfair offer poker, but they don’t specialise it in the same way that Sky Poker does. It’s one of the oldest poker sites in the UK and it looks its age in a few aspects of its design, but don’t let that become a reason to underestimate it. Whether you want to check out the Sky Poker Academy as a newcomer to the game or “Sit & Go” at one of its many tournaments, Sky Poker has you covered. The homepage of Sky Poker promises that getting set up with the site is as simple as registering and then playing, which means there’s a difference between this site and the many sites out there that still require players to download special software before they start playing poker. It’s not quite the all-singing, all-dancing poker brand that PokerStars is, but there’s plenty to like about it.
Tombola
Tombola claims to have over fifty years of experience. That’s a somewhat controversial claim, and its veracity depends on some questionable interpretation of the origin of the company that founded it, but what we can’t dispute is its claim to be one of the top bingo sites in the UK. In fact, Tombola specifically claims to be the UK’s biggest casino platform. We’re sure that both Mecca Bingo and Gala Bingo would have things to say about that, but the numbers don’t lie. Tombola prides itself on two things – exclusivity and great customer experiences. The two things go hand in hand, with all the bingo games at Tombola being developed in-house and strictly exclusive to the platform. As the winner of multiple EGR Awards, Tombola has demonstrated that it’s more than capable of walking it like it talks it. It’s the most unique of our PokerStars sister sites, and offers you something entirely unlike the experience that awaits you at the others we’ve mentioned.
Can PokerStars Be Trusted?
★★★★★
PokerStars is a 3-star trusted brand.
| 1. Licenses and Fines | PokerStars is covered by a valid, clean UK Gambling Commission licence. |
| 2. Accepts UK players? | It’s a world-famous brand, and it’s open to players in the UK. |
| 3. Trustpilot Score | 1.3/5.0 (>280 reviews). |
| 4. Operator Name & Location | Stars Interactive Limited, based on the Isle of Man. |
| 5. Bonus Terms | Wagering requirements on bonuses in PokerStars Casino are complicated and unclear. |
| 6. Customer Support | Primarily provided via live chat. No phone support. |
| 7. Withdrawal Speed & Options | Several e-wallets, debit cards, bank transfers. Same-day transactions on e-wallets. |
| 8. Number of Sister Sites | There are no PokerStars sister sites at the moment. |
| 9. Games portfolio | PokerStars started as a poker-only site, but now offers sports betting and a large casino. |
| 10. On GamStop? | PokerStars is on GamStop. |
| Overall SCORE > | ★★★★★ – 3/5 Stars |
PokerStars Review 2026
PokerStars might just be the most glamorous online poker brand in the whole world, known for its connections to sporting megastars and celebrities like the Brazilian footballer Neymar. However, it’s never been quite as popular in the UK as it has been in other parts of the world. It’s also become a much more complicated site in recent times. When you land on the PokerStars homepage today, you’ll be asked if you want to play poker or casino games, or whether you want to bet on sports. Is this a brand that’s successfully diversified its offerings, or has it watered itself down and lost its way? Let’s see.
PokerStars Welcome Promotions
PokerStars might offer three separate strands (poker, casino, sports), but you can only claim welcome bonuses on two of those categories – poker or casino games. The poker bonus is a 100% matched deposit with a maximum value of £40, which sounds like it should be a simple first-deposit bonus, but it isn’t. There are wagering requirements attached to the offer, but the terms of those wagering requirements are as clear as mud. You need seventy-five redemption points to claim each £5 of the bonus, with 6.5 points earned for every £1 you spend on poker. That means you need to wager over £90 on poker to claim the £40 bonus you thought you’d secured on entry, we think. It says a lot that we’ve reviewed literally thousands of iGaming sites, but we can’t make head nor tail of this.
The terms of the PokerStars Casino welcome promotion are similarly murky. It’s advertised as a simple “double your deposit” offer with a maximum value of £500, with fifty free spins thrown in to sweeten the pot. In this instance, the actual earning rate based on wagering isn’t stated. If we assume that it’s £1 per point – which could be wildly inaccurate – you’d need 2500 points to unlock the £500, which is £2500 of spending. We’ve never seen wagering requirements formulated like this before, and the lack of clarity makes them very confusing.
Other Promotions
The complicated nature of the PokerStars welcome bonus sets the tone for the rest of the promotions at the site. There are six “PokerStars Rewards” levels, with a different “treasure chest” awarded at each level. The higher the chest level, the better the quality of the rewards inside it. Players get one hundred “reward points” for every £1 paid in fees for tournaments or paid in rake for poker games, or one reward point for every £1 spent on sports betting. The conversion rate for playing casino games isn’t clear. To get a blue chest – the lowest level – players need 333 reward points. To get a black chest, which is the highest level, players need 100,000 reward points. The value of the bonuses in the black chest is calculated at £250. In the blue chest, it’s just 50p. There are multiple reward levels between the two, but like the welcome bonus, it’s all just a little bit too complicated.
What are the Pros and Cons of PokerStars?
Pros: Aside from having a reputation as a “glamour site,” PokerStars offers the full smorgasbord of big-money poker games, casino games and sports betting. The massive prize pots attached to the games at PokerStars are unlikely to be equalled at many of the other poker sites you may have visited in the past. It’s possible that the long-term reward promotions could be lucrative if you can work out how they operate.
Cons: The bonuses and promotions are far more complicated than they need to be and are likely beyond the comprehension of some players. Customer support is limited to live chat only, and even then, you need to be logged into your account to use it properly. Withdrawals can take a week or more to process. These are all surprising flaws for a site of such repute to have.
Top Games at PokerStars
We’re not going to go into the ins and outs of the top casino games at PokerStars Casino – that’s why we have an entirely separate page for it, which you’re welcome to check out. We’re also not going to focus on the PokerStars sportsbook because although it’s great that the site has one, it’s not really the point of the site. Instead, we’re going to talk about what PokerStars is known best for – its poker rooms and poker tournaments.
Whether you’re looking for No Limited Hold’em or specialities like Spin & Go poker, PokerStars has options for you. You can play poker against real players while seeing them face-to-face via webcam. PokerStars even makes it possible to play poker via Twitch. What PokerStars is really known for, though, is its tournaments. The site claims to run the biggest poker tournaments in the world, and based on the evidence, we can’t disagree. From the Sunday Million games to the Knockout Poker tournaments and the sports-themed PokerStars Kick-Off, this is a site that’s found a way to serve you the same game in one hundred different ways and still make it entertaining. That’s not to mention that if you can ace the tables at the PokerStars website, you could find yourself invited to play at real-world tournaments.
Withdrawal Processing & Support
When it comes to choice, the situation with withdrawals at PokerStars is good. When it comes to speed, it’s anything but. You can carry out transactions with PokerStars using your debit card, your e-wallet (Skrill, PayPal, Neteller, and MuchBetter are all supported), Apple Pay, Google Pay and even old-fashioned wire transfers. However, PokerStars insists on a pending period of up to 72 hours to consider debit card or bank transfer requests. Worse still, it might take between two and five business days beyond that to get your money to you. We’re not aware of any reason why this should be the case, and again, a brand of PokerStars’ repute should be moving much faster. In better news, e-wallets are eligible for same-day cash.
Customer Services & Licensing
Customer support is another area of weakness for PokerStars. There isn’t a telephone number to call, and we couldn’t even find an email address on the website. The site offers a detailed live chat service with real people so long as you’re logged into your account, but if you can’t log in – which is one of the most common reasons for people to seek assistance – you’ll have to dig through the FAQ section until you’re offered a contact option. However, if you can’t log in, you’ll be taken to a bot rather than a real person. That’s not optimal, and it feels unnecessarily restrictive.
As for the site’s licence – that’s UK Gambling Commission licence 39108, as held by Stars Interactive Limited. The same licence would cover all of the PokerStars sister sites if it had any. It’s a clean licence, with no fines or reprimands on record.
PokerStars – The Verdict
Oh dear – there’s quite a lot wrong here. Trying to work out how to extract the maximum value from the welcome promotion is likely to give you a headache. The other promotions at the site, carefully structured though they are, are no less likely to confuse you. The standard of customer care the site provides isn’t quite up to scratch, and PokerStars takes far too long to process withdrawals unless you’re using an e-wallet.
We’re amazed such weaknesses exist at a brand that’s so well-known for its flashy big-money tournaments, but unless money’s your only motivation and you’re happy to put up with all these shortcomings, there are better poker sites out there for you than this one. If anyone from PokerStars happens to read this, please sort your bonuses out. There’s really no need to present them in a way that has us trying to create formulas to work it out – it’s not exactly player-friendly.
What are players saying about PokerStars?
Here are our condensed / reader’s digest summaries of recent PokerStars reviews from real players.
- 05-May-2025 by Tomas:
Tried to sign up with PokerStars and it all went downhill from there. The confirmation code didn’t work, so I had to jump through hoops just to get my account verified. Played a bit of blackjack, won a small amount, and then tried to withdraw – that’s when they shut down my account with no explanation. Customer service gave me nothing but vague replies about “risk assessments” and refused to confirm if my withdrawal had even gone through. They’re hiding behind the small print and keeping my money. I’m now taking it to the Malta Gaming Authority and other regulatory bodies. Avoid this site. If you win, they’ll just shut you out and pocket your cash. – source: Trustpilot - 24-Apr-2025 by Paddy:
The worst thing about PokerStars is the watered-down slot versions with low RTPs. They destroy your balance and force more deposits. It’s a shady tactic that way too many sites are using now. Also noticed some big-name providers missing, which was disappointing. On the plus side, withdrawals have been instant for me, and I’ve had no technical issues. But they really need to fix the games they’re offering; no excuse for using the lowest payout settings. – source: Trustpilot - 18-Apr-2025 by Christopher:
They took my deposit, shut down my account, and I’ve not had a penny back. Absolute joke of a site. – source: Trustpilot - 14-Apr-2025 by Millennium:
After two decades on PokerStars, I’m done. Crashes, bugs, and total silence from support, even after I sent screenshots. Couldn’t even deposit £20 recently due to unresolved payment errors. Moved from macOS to Windows hoping for a better experience, only to find it’s worse. The site has lost the plot. I’ll be switching to GGPoker and sharing all this publicly to warn others. PokerStars used to lead the pack but now it’s stuck in the past and ignoring loyal players. – source: Trustpilot - 13-Apr-2025 by Jayo:
Had my account frozen for three weeks for no reason after depositing. Provided the same documents three or four times, and they still fobbed me off, saying it’s with “Security”. Support’s been useless. I’ve never dealt with a customer service team this bad. Don’t expect your money back without a fight. – source: Trustpilot - 10-Apr-2025 by Cristian:
Shocking experience. PokerStars is an absolute scam. Avoid at all costs. GGPoker is a far better option. – source: Trustpilot - 02-Apr-2025 by Leigh:
PokerStars should be investigated by the UK Gambling Commission. Their practices are highly questionable and they don’t seem to care about their customers at all. Suspicious, dodgy, and seriously in need of scrutiny. – source: Trustpilot - 25-Mar-2025 by Damion:
Deposited £100 and within minutes, PokerStars shut down my account. No refund, no explanation, and no response to emails. Steer well clear. – source: Trustpilot - 14-Mar-2025 by Graham:
After 10 years on PokerStars, I tried to make a withdrawal and suddenly had to reverify my ID, even though nothing had changed. They stopped the payment, left a note in my account tab, and haven’t responded properly since. I’ve sent documents, spoken to support on Twitter and live chat, and still no movement. They were happy to take my money — not so keen on giving it back. Appalling service and I’ve now lost faith in them completely. – source: Trustpilot - 04-Mar-2025 by Juicy:
Total con artists. Don’t even waste your time. They’ll take your money and give you nothing back. – source: Trustpilot