PokerStars offloads Russian players to mark final exit from market

An all-in triangle at a PokerStars live event. credit Danny Maxwell Photography - DMP
Haley Hintze
Haley Hintze
Posted on: March 16, 2025 03:49 PDT

PokerStars has announced that it will be transferring its Russian online poker players to an independent, third-party site in early April, effectively declaring its withdrawal from the Russian poker market.

On April 5, 2025, all Russian PokerStars player accounts will be moved to PokerPlanets.com, along with the players' existing balances.

PokerStars states that PokerPlanets is unaffiliated with PokerStars. PokerPlanets will be serving players globally under a Curacao-based license.

Stars surrendering Sochi license

In an announcement about the transfer of its Russian players, PokerStars also acknowledged that it has no plans to seek a renewal for the PokerStars Sochi site, through which Stars served its Russian players.