Canada’s Amaya Gaming has gone on an online domain buying binge in apparent preparation for the launch of a standalone sports betting brand.
Amaya’s PokerStars brand took its first sports bet this spring following Amaya’s 2014 purchase of the Rational Group, the parent company of Stars and Full Tilt. Both brands had begun a process of diversifying their offering beyond poker but this process has accelerated under Amaya’s leadership.
On Friday, GamblingInvest.com reported that the Rational Group’s domain portfolio management company Rational Intellectual Holdings had acquired several domains connected with the word ‘betstars,’ including betstars.com, betstars.net and betstars.co.uk.
The betstars.com domain was reportedly acquired late last month. BetStars.com was a sportsbook run by UK-licensed WilsonBet (and not to be confused with the Melbourne-based BetStar bookmaker acquired by Ladbrokes Australia last year). On June 30, WilsonBet shut down its BetStars site in order to focus on its telephone betting operation, although it promised at the time to “establish a new and improved website in the near future.”