PokerStars Commission Hike Sparks Massive Player Protest

The protest against PokerStars' commission increase, which started on January 1, 2016, gained significant traction on the GipsyTeam forum, spanning 75 pages and over 250,000 views. 770 people registered on the protest website at the time of writing. A parallel protest on Tiltbook united over 1,500 people, although the actual number of verified activists is lower.

Professional poker players, including Sam Grafton and Alexander Grischuk, strongly opposed the commission increase. Isaac Haxton, a top PokerStars online professional, did not renew his sponsorship contract with PokerStars.

The protest is planned in three steps, starting with a week-long protest from January 1-7, followed by a ten-day protest in February, and a month-long protest if 5,000 players join. The protest aims to form a council of online poker players to approve future changes, and to reverse recent modifications to the VIP system. The protest organizers believe that economic pressure from 5,000 active players could significantly impact PokerStars' finances.