PokerStars review
The largest online poker network on the planet
- Licensing & compliance
- 9.3
- Payments & withdrawals
- 8.4
- Complaints & ADR (n=28)
- 8.6
- Bonus fairness
- 8.4
- Responsible gambling
- 8.8
- Editorial transparency
- 8.8
tl;dr
PokerStars is the world's largest online poker site, founded in 2001 and now part of Flutter Entertainment. Operates the deepest cash-game and tournament traffic across NLHE and PLO. UKGC-licensed for the British market alongside MGA and other EU regulators. Best suited to UK tournament grinders and cash-game players who need volume and a tier-1 operator.
What works
- Largest cash-game and tournament traffic of any online room
- Tier-1 UKGC under Flutter compliance
- Best-in-class anti-bot and RTA enforcement
- Deep MTT schedule including SCOOP and WCOOP
What doesn't
- Withdrawal SLA averages 24h
- No crypto
- Cash-game rake on the high end vs newer rooms
- UK ringfencing splits liquidity from .com pools
Bonus, decoded
£20 free play, no deposit required, plus deposit match
- Headline
- €20
- Wagering
- 6×
- Expiry
- 60d
our math: ~€15 expected value (96% slot RTP, 6× WR)
Banking & payouts
| Withdrawal speed | 1d |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | €10 |
| Crypto support | No |
| KYC threshold | Full at signup |
| Methods | Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, Bank transfer, Trustly |
| 24/7 live chat | Yes |
Licensing & corporate
UK Gambling Commission
- Legal entity
- TSG Interactive Gaming Europe Limited
- Founded
- 2001
- Parent group
- Flutter Entertainment
- Website
- pokerstars.uk ↗
How we scored PokerStars
We score every operator against six pillars on the same 10-point scale, weighted by what materially affects player outcomes. The same 6-pillar framework runs across every vertical — vertical-specific weights live in our public methodology.
| Pillar | Weight | PokerStars score |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing & compliance | 20% | 9.3 |
| Payments & withdrawals | 20% | 8.4 |
| Complaints & ADR (n=28) | 20% | 8.6 |
| Bonus fairness | 15% | 8.4 |
| Responsible gambling | 15% | 8.8 |
| Editorial transparency | 10% | 8.8 |
Verified 2026-04-29 by Lukas H. (Poker analyst, 12 yrs cash + MTT). Next review due 2026-07-29.
Player reviews
What players say about PokerStars
Still the only room with real Sunday-major traffic
Played 80k hands on Stars over three years. The MTT field depth is unmatched — Sunday Million still hits the guarantee even after the .EU/.DE/.ES splits. Cash rake is high (5% capped) but the volume offsets it. RTA enforcement is the strictest in the industry.
- +Largest MTT field
- +Strict RTA enforcement
- +Reliable software
- −High cash rake
- −No crypto
Cash games softer than reputation suggests
PokerStars.RO has a reputation as a shark-tank but at NL25 and below the field is recreationally heavy. The bigger issue is country segmentation — liquidity is genuinely thin at off-peak hours.
Verified by
The PokerStars review was last verified by an anonymous specialist. Editors at 1baraban publish under pseudonyms — industry-standard for affiliate review sites, where named reviewers face retaliation from operators.
Felter· Cash + MTT grinder, 13 yrs · Hendon Mob rankedThirteen years on the felt. The room's reputation is the product.Last verified 29 Apr 2026
