POKERSTARS, the world’s second biggest internet poker company, will announce today that it is moving its operations to the Isle of Man, presaging a possible stock market flotation.

The group, which is controlled by the Scheinberg family of Israel, becomes one of several gambling companies eyeing a possible London listing alongside Coral Eurobet, Gala Group, Betfair, Cassava Enterprises and Trident Gaming.

PokerStars, which is currently based in Costa Rica, has secured a licence from the Isle of Man Government and plans to move to the island later this year.

It has appointed headhunters to find a chief executive to run the company from its new base.

Bill Mummery, the head of e-gaming development for the Isle of Man, said that the decision by PokerStars to relocate there was a “milestone” as the island sought to position itself as an attractive jurisdiction for online gambling operators.

Mr Mummery, a former director of Betinternet, one of the first internet operators to move to the island, said that recent changes to the duty regime and the scrapping of corporation tax from April next year had “created a lot of interest”.

Another key factor for PokerStars was the removal in January of rules barring companies from accepting casino and poker bets from America, where internet gambling is a grey area legally.

Mr Mummery said he could not comment on suggestions that PokerStars might be considering an initial public offering (IPO). But he said that moving to a jurisdiction with strong financial and risk controls would “help companies get backing from the City and other sources of funding”.

Alun Bowden, the editor of eGaming Review, said: “There are a lot of reasons for moving to the Isle of Man, which provides PokerStars with a base for European expansion. But it would also suggest to me that an IPO was probably on the cards.”

The flotation of PartyGaming, the world’s biggest internet poker company, in London at the end of June has encouraged smaller rivals to consider their strategic options.

Although PokerStars is still some way from taking a decision on a possible IPO, analysts believe a listing would enable it to become one of the industry’s main consolidators. One analyst said: “There are more than 1,000 internet poker sites, but in three or four years I would expect there to be no more than 50 or 60. As growth slows, so consolidation will become the name of the game.”

Although smaller than PartyGaming, PokerStars, which has a market share of about 10 per cent, has a strong franchise through its involvement with big tournaments such as the World Series of Poker Champions and the World Championship of Online Poker.

PokerStars could not be reached for comment.

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