Amaya Inc based out of Canada, was a relatively unknown company until it surprised everyone in the poker industry in June 2014, when it confirmed that it had successfully acquired PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
PokerStars is the biggest online poker website in the world and has upheld that status after being acquired by Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion. Since then the company has continued to stay in the news as it rolled out a number of strategic and operational changes.
The billion dollar acquisition drew a lot of attention from the authorities who wanted to know if the proper legal processed was followed during the negotiation and acquisition process. The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) recently announced that they had launched an investigation that would focus on Amaya Inc’s CEO and CFO. The gambling authority recently confirmed that both CEO David Baazov and CFO Daniel Sebag were under investigation not for personal trading or pilfering funds but for violating Canadian gaming law in completing the acquisition process.
The investigation will not do anything to enhance PokerStars reputation in the United States as the company was forced to exit the US market during the infamous Black Friday scandal. PokerStars is currently campaigning hard to get an online poker license in New Jersey but due to its past history has faced an uphill task of gaining approval.
Amaya Gaming confirmed that their CEO and CFO was under investigation by Quebec authorities but stated that the company had done everything as per procedure and the authorities would soon confirm the same once they complete their investigation.
