It appears that Amaya, Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA) was dealt a winning hand, considering how its shares are performing in the market on Thursday. This move came after the company announced that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has authorized it to operate the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands in the state of New Jersey.

For some background, Amaya provides products and services in the global gaming and interactive entertainment industries. Among these are PokerStars which is the world’s largest online poker site and Full Tilt which is among the world’s top online gaming sites.

Back to the announcement. The approval follows an unprecedented review by the DGE of Amaya’s acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt in August 2014.  The approval enables the entry of the world’s largest poker business into the U.S.

Amaya currently has an agreement with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City to provide online poker and casino offerings in New Jersey through the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands. The company has also previously received approvals from the DGE to provide B2B online and land-based gaming solutions in New Jersey.

David Baazov, Chairman and CEO of Amaya, said:

We are very pleased to add New Jersey to the long list of regulated markets that have found PokerStars and Full Tilt suitable to offer real-money online gaming. I want to thank the DGE for their thorough and fair review of our business. We look forward to bringing our popular brands, innovative technology, marketing prowess and world-class security and game integrity to the growing New Jersey online gaming market. We anticipate providing additional details of our launch plans in the near future.

Shares of Amaya were up 19% at $21.71 on Thursday afternoon. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $16.59 to $34.50.

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