Stardust Casino is back — and it’s under new ownership.
The iconic brand relaunched its online casino in New Jersey earlier this month — a consequence of Boyd Gaming acquiring Pala Interactive last year for $170 million.
Players who were active on Stardust Casino before May 2 were migrated to FanDuel Casino NJ. Funds that were previously stored in Stardust accounts were moved to new accounts with FanDuel.
The new Stardust Casino NJ, currently up and running in New Jersey, is actually a rebrand of Pala Casino. On its website, Pala said, “The new brand look and feel [from the rebrand to Stardust] will take you back to the golden era of classic Las Vegas.”
REVIEWBONUS- Generous welcome bonus
- Variety of jackpot games
- Excellent live casino
Pala advised its customers that on May 2, they would automatically become members of the Boyd Rewards program. It added that the transition would not affect login and password information previously used to access Pala Casino.
FanDuel said former Stardust Casino players would be unable to login, withdraw money, or have access to the former Stardust Casino app beginning on November 2, 2023.
A similar change was taking place in neighboring Pennsylvania — where Pala Casino PA has rebranded as Stardust Casino PA, also effective on May 2. Stardust’s land-based casino partner in the Keystone State is Valley Forge Casino Resort, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
Boyd agreed to acquire Pala in March 2022. The agreement, which closed in November, included Pala’s online poker, casino gaming, sports betting platforms, and its player account management system.
Boyd CEO Keith Smith said the Pala acquisition would give it the opportunity “to create a profitable regional online casino business.” He did not mention Stardust by name.
Boyd and FanDuel Have Been Partners Since 2018
The owners may have changed, but not everything has.
Pala Casino has rebranded as Stardust Casino, but the online casino platform is still tethered to the land-based casino license of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. The other operators on the Borgata license are BetMGM Casino NJ, Borgata Casino NJ, partycasino NJ, and Wheel of Fortune Casino NJ.
- Nice welcome offer
- Quality promotions
- Good in-play options
BetMGM Casino and Borgata Casino are expected to account for the greatest share of NJ online casino revenue coming through on the Borgata license, while Stardust is expected to be one of the smaller brands.
Regulators with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) still list Pala Casino as a partner operator for Borgata. It was unclear when NJDGE would update its records.
Boyd has been a strategic partner for online casino gaming and sports betting with FanDuel since August 2018. Boyd also owns a 5% stake in FanDuel, a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment. Flutter is also the parent company of PokerStars.
Last year, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) signed off a plan for Fremont Hotel & Casino, a Boyd-owned property, to rebrand its retail sportsbook facilities as a FanDuel Sportsbook. The new FanDuel Sportsbook opened at the Fremont last January.
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