All-In Cash Out Goes Live but Online Poker Taking Backseat at Stars Group

August 14th, 2019 | by Jason Reynolds

PokerStars may have rolled out another ground-breaking innovation but online poker is becoming less of an asset for its parent company.

PokerStars rolls out its latest innovation but online poker revenue is starting to take a backseat. (Image: PokerStars)

As part of its ongoing effort to offer value to more players, PokerStars has just launched All-In Cash Out. First reported at the end of July, the new feature allows players to collect their equity during an all-in pot.

Going live on August 13 and unique to PokerStars, All-In Cash Out provides instant cash payments in place of winning the main pot.

All-In Cash Out to Generate Action

Although PokerStars charges a one percent fee for taking insurance, the aim is to generate more action by reducing variance.

As an example, a player that’s all-in with 75 percent equity (i.e. likelihood of winning) can take 0.75 multiplied by the value of the pot minus one percent as a cash payment.

Although a player forfeits the main pot by not allowing the hand to play out, All-In Cash Out is a way to avoid getting unlucky.

While seasoned players are used to bad beats, hard luck can often deter casuals. By introducing a new type of insurance, PokerStars is providing a proverbial safety net.

Like other recent innovations, PokerStars will be banking on All-In Cash Out increasing traffic. However, according to an August 12 report, online poker is in danger of becoming an afterthought for The Stars Group.

Looking at the data, sport is now the operator’s top earner. Compared to the same period in 2018, sports betting revenue accounted for 36 percent of The Stars Group’s Q2 earnings.

As that vertical was increased its share by 20 percent, online poker’s contribution fell.

During the second quarter of 2018, poker was responsible for 53 percent of overall revenue. Fast-forward to 2019 and that figure had dropped to 30 percent.

Online Poker Losing Its Significance

Although the difference between the verticals may only be six percent, the dynamics are clearly changing. As well as increasing its own sports betting interests, The Stars Group has forged a number of significant partnerships.

Alongside the takeover of Sky Betting & Gaming in 2018, the operator is now working with FOX Sports. Powering the media company’s new betting platform, The Stars Group is gradually ramping up its influence in the sector.

Given the opportunities present within sports betting, this strategy is understandable. However, long-time customers may be concerned this new focus will come at the expense of online poker.

For its part, PokerStars has continued to innovate. Over the last two years, it has launched a number of products, including 6+ Hold’em.

These changes have certainly kept The Stars Group’s poker site feeling fresh. The issue, however, is that these updates slowly dry up if online poker’s contributions continue to fall.