For well over a decade, PokerStars have been the Barcelona of the poker world. Negreanu being the Lionel Messi of the game. Liv Boeree the Romario. Ronaldo the, well, Ronaldo. So it’s no surprise that the world renowned brand are all set to make their way into another market – sports betting.

The sports betting market is worth between an estimated $700billion and $1trillion, and PokerStars are looking to take a chunk of that by rolling out their sports book globally in 2015. This will come alongside the new PokerStars casino which was launched at the end of November ahead of a full-featured casino being released on mobile and web next year.

The move comes at a good time with soccer not only being incredibly popular worldwide but also seeing a boom in the USA following the nation’s success under Jurgen Klinsmann in the World Cup last year.

Viewing figures reached almost 25 million during the tournament in Brazil, more than the NBA Championship series average figures, and marks a huge rise in people interested in the sport.

Of course, sports betting has always been popular in the USA. This year’s Super Bowl saw $119.4million bet on the game in Nevada casinos alone, whilst fantasy football is played by 33 million Americans generating a market of $1.18billion.

It makes good sense for PokerStars to move into sports betting, with the brand holding strong relationships to a number of world-class athletes including Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, and Olympic cross-country skier Marcus Hellner.

Which provides a perfect marketing opportunity for the brand. Nadal and Ronaldo have already created a lot of attention for the brand with the Brazilian football legend taking on the tennis superstar in a poker match at the end of November which was picked up by the media around the globe.

PokerStars have already begun their campaign to expand from just poker, dropping roulette and blackjack before adding other casino games and has promised to provide the same quality across all their offerings.

Head of Corporate Communications at the brand, Eric Hollreiser said, “We are taking the same principles, practices and integrity that make PokerStars such a successful and beloved brand and applying them to new verticals.”

The move comes following a successful trial on PokerStars.ES, alongside the rollout of a casino on Full Tilt in January. Hollreiser added, “Those launches have been successful in reactivating dormant customers and extending the value of our existing poker customers.

“We are confident these games will create more value to our PokerStars site and bolster the core poker offering.”

The sports book offering will certainly do this with the betting industry going from strength to strength as technology continues to advance. We can expect it to land in 2015, meaning not only will PokerStars be the Barcelona of the poker world, but you’ll be able to back the Spanish giants with them too.