FoxSports and PokerStars Team Up

Fans of poker and sports are set to get the best of both worlds now that PokerStars.net has teamed up with FoxSports.com, one of the most popular online destinations for sports news.

PokerStars announced the new partnership earlier in November and promised that it would bring a combination of "the best live and editorial content with the web's best online poker games."

Under the joint venture, poker players will be able to use its free-play client and read industry news, tournament results, strategies and rules all on a special application hosted on FoxSports.com.

Mutual Satisfaction

FoxSports Interactive was just as happy as PokerStars about the move, vice president of gaming Jim Bernard saying: "Poker enthusiasts are some of the most fanatical and engaged sports fans on the web today. We look forward to delivering the poker experience to our 26 million users."

Although a more detailed description of what the deal will deliver has yet to be made public, it is clear that this move positions FoxSports to challenge rival ESPN.com, which has built up an extensive poker network including weekly news magazine Inside Deal.

Free Play Poker

WSOP.com, the website of the World Series of Poker, has also been pushing its own free-play client in recent months, during broadcasts of its Main Event tournament.