Rational Group

About Rational Group

Rational Group was the parent company of online gambling businesses, most notably PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. It was founded in 2001 by Israeli-Canadian father and son Isai and Mark Scheinberg. Isai, a former IBM Canada programmer, developed the software for what would become PokerStars, which launched for real-money play in December 2001. The company capitalized on the global poker boom of the early 2000s to become the world's largest online poker operator. In a transformative deal in 2014, the Scheinbergs sold Rational Group and its assets to the Canadian firm Amaya Gaming Group for $4.9 billion. Following this acquisition, Mark Scheinberg exited the company. Amaya later rebranded itself as The Stars Group Inc. in August 2017, aligning its corporate identity with its most prominent brand, PokerStars. The Stars Group continued to expand its portfolio, acquiring UK-based Sky Betting & Gaming in 2018 for $4.7 billion and partnering with FOX Sports in 2019 to launch the FOX Bet brand in the United States. The company's business model is centered on real-money online gaming, with revenue generated from poker, betting (sportsbook), and other games like casino and bingo. It operates in numerous jurisdictions through local licenses or multi-jurisdictional licenses from the Isle of Man and Malta. In May 2020, The Stars Group was acquired by Flutter Entertainment in an all-share transaction, creating the world's largest online betting and gaming company by revenue. The combined entity owns a diverse portfolio of brands including Paddy Power, Betfair, and FanDuel, alongside the former Stars Group properties. Keywords: online gambling, PokerStars, The Stars Group, real-money gaming, sports betting, iGaming, online poker, Flutter Entertainment, Isai Scheinberg, Mark Scheinberg, Full Tilt Poker, Amaya Gaming, online casino, FOX Bet, Sky Betting & Gaming, betting, gaming operator