Amaya launch StarsDraft daily fantasy sports site, block Michigan, Canada

Canadian online gambling operator Amaya Gaming has officially launched its new daily fantasy sports site StarsDraft.com.

Amaya acquired DFS operator Victiv last month and previewed its intention to eventually rebrand the outfit as StarsDraft. Now, on the same day that Tom Brady learned he’d be suiting up for the Patriots when the NFL season kicks off next Thursday, Victiv players learned they’d now be picking NFL lineups on StarsDraft.

StarsDraft has reassured players that Victiv’s original management will continue to operate the site but the site is “in the process of integrating the operational expertise of Amaya/PokerStars through many areas of the business.” Players can’t yet login to StarsDraft using their PokerStars login, but a “single sign-on functionality” is in the works that will allow “all previous PokerStars players” an easy path to fantasy action.

Like the main DFS operators, StarsDraft doesn’t accept players from the five states – Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Washington – that have declared DFS to be a tool of Beelzebub. But StarsDraft also won’t accept new deposits from Michigan, where only the day before the state gaming regulator had declared DFS to be illegal. Existing Michigan players have been given a 120-day grace period to play out or withdraw their account balances.