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Are you looking to develop a world-class poker app that attracts countless users? Why not develop an app like PokerStars? With a feature-rich platform, cross-platform compatibility, the best poker tournaments, fair and secure integrity with instant withdrawals, RNG certification, an OG poker experience, and many more, this poker platform has all the crucial things that make it stand out from the current crowded market.
In this step-by-step guide, you will discover how to develop a poker app like PokerStars. Learn how you can build your own poker app with engaging features, secure real-time gameplay, and implement effective monetization strategies to make it an earning platform for both users and your business. This guide is perfect for those looking to enter the market quickly and attract a wider audience while balancing engagement and profitability.
Want to get started right now? Read this guide till the end!
Dig Deeper: Texas Holdem Game Software Cost & Features
PokerStars is the world's largest online poker site with new player promotions, a hub for the biggest poker tournaments, and an extensive player base you find nowhere else. The poker site was founded in 2001, and since then, it has generated massive figures in terms of revenue. The updated data show that PokerStars' revenue figure up to May 2025 is $1 billion. (Source)
In November 2024, the platform reported approximately 501,100 visits, indicating a 7.6% increase from the previous month. (Source)
Building a unique platform like PokerStars with a vibrant community requires more than basic gameplay and functionality. It involves integrating the right features that contribute to increased user engagement and retention and higher profitability. Undoubtedly, secure payment systems and multiplayer compatibility are some of the features that play an important role in the success of a Poker app.
Real-time Multiplayer Gameplay
Multiplayer gaming is crucial to providing an engaging Poker gaming experience. Implementing strong skill-based matching systems is necessary so that players of similar skill levels are matched against each other, thus giving them a thrilling and competitive gaming experience.
Social Gaming Features
Gaming socially is going to be the biggest thing for the industry in the near future, and features such as live chat, social media integration, and friend invitations contribute greatly to making players feel like one community.
Secure Payment Gateways
One thing that we should also not forget is to include a secure payment system that allows for fast and easy transactions. The game platform should be able to provide various payment options to users so that they can opt for the one that is most convenient for them.
Gamification Features
Gamification options like leaderboards, achievement badges, milestone rewards, and loyalty programs offer players thrilling side goals to accomplish. These features provide a feeling of progress and incentivize players by offering game advancement rewards, thus invoking a sense of satisfaction.
Multiple Poker Variations
For a market-dominant app like PokerStars, it is definitely necessary to have a variety of poker games in the portfolio, such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, etc. These poker games also help to keep the players engaged with the app.
Stunning Visuals
An online Poker app must be visually appealing, with smooth animations that give an immersive gaming experience. This immersive experience should be able to captivate players.
Mobile Compatibility
Create an app like PokerStars that is smoothest compatible across many platforms, such as Android and iOS. Also, optimize the app to run perfectly on various screens and devices.
Customization Tables
The best Poker game should also allow players to customize tables, use different skins for cards, and choose various themes and colors to create their personalized feel.
Dig Deeper: How to Develop an App Like WSOP Poker?
Developing a poker app like PokerStars is one of the most rewarding and profitable ventures, but the reality of online app development might not always live up to expectations. Building a poker app requires a clear and disciplined development strategy that assures the creation of a strong and expandable game app.
Market Research
Before you begin the development process, you, as an operator, must understand the market and competitors. Involve your target audience and learn their preferences. While some people rejoice at the idea of playing advanced high-stakes gaming, others are more inclined to a casual experience.
Hence, to do this effectively, you need to conduct a detailed SWOT analysis of your competitors. This will help you determine their business strengths and weaknesses, which will guide your market research on what to follow and what to avoid.
Game Design and Conceptualization
The game design and user interface constitute the central aspects of apps like PokerStars. It is very important to design a user-friendly and simple interface that provides easy navigation. Do not go overboard with multimedia elements, as this leads to a cluttered and unresponsive user interface.
You may use design tools such as Figma to get wireframes as a visual aid for your game design. An effectively designed and optimized poker game assures high user engagement and improved replayability.
Dig Deeper: Poker Software Providers
Choosing the Right Technology Stack
Software Development Kits (SDKs) and technology stack are the main components of the whole development process. It depends on the platform you are aiming for. Various platforms may necessitate using diverse technologies and programming languages. If you aim at creating an app for multi-platforms, you might want to consider using the following technology stacks:
Poker Game Development and Coding
Developing a Poker game is quite demanding since the programmers have to ensure that the gaming environment is fair and that the gameplay is functional. A solid and durable Poker app can only be built upon the core mechanics and game logic guaranteeing a smooth and uninterrupted gaming experience.
In addition to the game mechanics, the inclusion of some parts, such as RNG and Blockchain, is of paramount importance for furthering the Poker gaming platform's fairness and security.
QA and Testing
When the development of the Poker Stars game app is done, the necessity to test it extensively and carry out the quality analysis is very significant to be sure that the game runs without discontinuities or errors. Testing is an important step in this process, as it spots the parts where the development is not thorough and thus fixes the parts that may cause a bad gaming experience. The types of tests are:
App Deployment and Maintenance
When the testing phase is over, you can launch the Poker app in the specialized app store. Before launching, ensure that your Poker game app follows the rules and regulations of the Google Play Store or App Store.
In addition, it is imperative to implement robust and effective promotional plans to guarantee the constant updating and maintenance of the PokerStars application. This not only facilitates the game's availability of the newest features but also ensures it is free from bugs or glitches.
Dig Deeper: Mobile Game Development Cost in India
The cost of developing a PokerStars-like application is not constant and is influenced by various factors. To begin with, we will identify the factors that have a multiplicative influence on the total cost of developing a PokerStars mobile app.
Game Complexity: A modern poker app with many features is more than two times more expensive than a simple one with only the necessary functions.
API Integration: Connecting APIs such as Poker game API, payment gateways, analytics tools, and RNG will cost you extra.
Location and Experience of the Developers: A highly skilled developer will usually have higher fees, and vice versa. The location of the developer is another factor that affects the overall development cost. For Poker game development, developers from India and Eastern Europe are much cheaper than those from North America and Western Europe.
Tech Stack: The technology used to develop the PokerStars app also plays a huge role in budget decisions.
Design and Graphics: Smooth animations, visually appealing graphics, and intuitive navigation will definitely increase the development's cost.
These factors play the main roles in determining the cost of poker game development. A PokerStars clone app with only the basic features can be developed between $18,000 and $30,000, although there is no definite price for developing a poker app.
Nevertheless, if you plan to launch a multi-platform poker application with the latest features, you should be prepared to pay a minimum of $45,000.
Also, keep in mind that all these pricing figures are estimates, and the actual cost solely depends on your requirements. To know the exact development cost for your Poker app, contact us.
Dig Deeper: How to Develop an App Like Zynga Poker?
Developing a Poker app requires navigating complex challenges beyond standard app development. Below are the key challenges developers face when developing an app like PokerStars:
Ensuring Fair Play and Security
Online Poker apps gather and handle sensitive data, including players' financial data, transactions, and information. Ensuring that all this data and information is completely safe and doesn’t have any gaps for breach is a foremost priority. To prevent all of these, developers must implement robust security measures and certificates, data encryption, and fraud detection mechanisms. Achieving this level of security measures requires highly technical expertise and constant monitoring.
To overcome this challenge, integrating robust security protocols like SSL encryption, two-factor authentication, and PCI DSS ensures safety on the poker site.
High Game Development Costs
Constructing an application for Online Poker similar to PokerStars that incorporates high-tech features such as a real-time multiplayer system, secure payment system, and reliable infrastructure is a costly affair, no doubt. Besides that, continuing with the app and maintaining it will be of additional cost, which can amount to a big sum.
By employing a development team from countries such as India or Eastern Europe, you can by no means incur unnecessary expenses. Orion InfoSolutions provides a budget-friendly Poker game development service that offers users a simple and feature-rich poker game on all platforms.
Tedious Competition and User Retention
There is already a high saturation of the dominant Poker sites GGPoker, PokerStars, and WSOP Poker channels in the online Poker market. Such a situation would dictate that gaining fame in the industry necessitates providing not just gameplay and features but also necessities like innovation, sustaining user experience, and smart marketing. Besides that, keeping the users results in loyalty programs, renewing, and including different players' gameplay.
Operators undoubtedly must incorporate enticing gameplay and innovative features to be the ones who win in the game of competition in the competitive industry.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
One of the common challenges that developers face today when developing a Poker app is regulatory compliance. Online Poker is considered to be a gambling in various jurisdictions. Therefore, before starting the development process, you must apply for a gambling license in your jurisdiction and obtain it to run your online poker business without any complications. Non-compliance can result in hefty penalties, jail, and, worse, permanently shut down your poker game business.
To overcome this challenge, developers must comply with all legal aspects of gambling and acquire all the necessary licenses to operate a legal poker game app.
Building an app like PokerStars is undoubtedly a highly profitable venture, but the development process comes with various challenges. So, before operators start the process, they must understand and tackle these obstacles to reach their goals smoothly. These challenges include legal requirements, scalability performance issues, and tedious competition in the market.
Orion InfoSolutions is a leading Poker software development company specializing in developing robust, scalable, and engaging online poker games sites, apps, and even popular Poker app clones for small businesses and entrepreneurs. If you're looking for customized poker game development services or apps like PokerStars, contact us right now!
DC Kumawat is the CEO of Orion InfoSolutions, a leading provider of IT solutions to businesses of all sizes. He has over 14+ years of experience in the IT industry. He is a passionate advocate for the use of technology to improve business performance.