White Hat Studios, the U.S. arm of European gambling operator White Hat Gaming, has inked a significant deal with leading online poker operator PokerStars.

This collaboration has brought White Hat’s casino games to PokerStars’ online casino-enabled platforms in regulated online casino markets.

Players in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia now have access to White Hat Studios’ portfolio of slot games and selected table games.  

Notable titles that are part of this deal include online slot games Peaky Blinders, Masters of Atlantis, and the popular Almighty Buffalo Megaways. Additionally, a selection of table games will also be introduced to PokerStars’ platform.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with PokerStars, a prominent name in the US iGaming market,” said Daniel Lechner, the VP of Sales and Marketing at White Hat Studios

Big Moves in the US Market

The rollout strategy was sequential, with New Jersey and Pennsylvania being the first states to witness the launch of White Hat’s content on PokerStars. This was closely followed by introductions in West Virginia, Connecticut, and finally, Michigan.

White Hat Studios has been proactive in establishing its presence across all U.S regulated online casino markets. The deal with PokerStars is the latest in a series of partnerships that White Hat has entered into.

“The deal exemplifies that the industry’s key players recognize the quality of our content. Having recently gone live across all regulated states, this partnership will further bolster our presence within each,” Lechner said.

Earlier collaborations include tie-ups with national U.S operators betPARX, and Rush Street Interactive.

The most recent partnership was finalized just last week with fellow Europe-based operator and owner of Unibet, Kindred. That saw it complete the set of six regulated markets, as its games became available in West Virginia.

“This latest market entry means we are now active in every regulated state, a remarkable feat, and we are proud of our dedicated and talented team for making it happen,” said White Hat CEO Andy Whitworth at the time.

Future Expansion

White Hat has also signed a deal with Bally’s, providing its Platform Aggregation Module (PAM) technology to help platform developer Kambi’s efforts in improving the struggling Bally Bet sportsbook.

White Hat could be looking to leverage that technology to become a bigger name in the online sports betting space, as it now has an online casino partner in every single legal state market. And, in some cases after this deal, now more than one. That means it will be relying on the number of markets to expand, for its own online casino options to rise.

That could, and probably will happen eventually. But legislation is often slow. Rhode Island was the only state added to the list of regulated online casino markets in the U.S in 2023, and it only gave licenses to two operators. However, one of those was Rhode Island-based Bally’s, with whom White Hat is also (indirectly) working.

A host of real-money gambling and gaming businesses have formed the Global Gaming Alliance, a new forum that aims to address shared challenges as the market for real-money, free-to-play and console gaming evolves. 

The GGA brings together real-money operators Entain and DraftKings, Facebook parent Meta, and mobile games developers 89Trillion and Habby to create a fair and sustainable industry. 

The collective has published a white paper, Responsible Gaming is Everyone’s Business, which calls on gaming companies to follow best practices on issues such as diversity, transparency, and player protection. In particular, the white paper highlights a need for greater diversity, more accessible and relatable games for a wider range of players, and controls to ensure play remains sustainable. 

The initiative launches with the gaming sector booming. Quoting third-party figures, the white paper points out that there were an estimated 2.9 billion players worldwide at the end of last year. Revenue for the sector is forecast to surpass $200bn (£148bn/€175bn) by 2023. 

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