What's going on?

On Wednesday, gambling companies Flutter Entertainment � owner of Ireland�s Paddy Power � and Stars Group � owner of America�s PokerStars � bet their futures on a $6 billion merger (tweet this).

What does this mean?

The two firms have rolled the dice on an �all-share� merger, meaning no cash will directly change hands. Instead, Flutter will pay Stars� investors a fraction of a share for each Stars share they own, which gives the entire company a value of $6 billion � 40% more than it was worth on Tuesday. Combined, Paddy will have Powered its way to the Stars: it�ll be the world�s � nay, the universe�s � biggest online gambling company by revenue. Hard to tell if they�re excited, mind you: they�ve one heck of a poker-face.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: The stars are aligning.

Gambling laws are changing the world over. Regulators in the UK and Australia, for example, have cracked down on �fixed-odds betting� like slot machines. US regulators, meanwhile, have gone all-in on sports betting, creating a whole new market for gambling firms to put their money on. Flutter and Stars� combined size should help them offset declines in some businesses (like UK betting stores) with growth in others (like US sports) � as well as give it a big enough pot of cash to rinse smaller rivals of all their chips.

For markets: Investors haven�t cashed in yet.

Flutter Entertainment�s shares, er, fluttered 6% higher on Wednesday: investors may be more confident in the deal as no cash is involved, and optimistic that both companies will deliver the promised synergies. Stars� stock rose too, after Flutter�s willingness to pay substantially more than it was worth encouraged other investors to buy big. Still, the deal may yet arouse regulatory scrutiny given the overlap between Paddy Power and Stars-owned Sky Betting & Gaming in the UK � which might explain why Stars� stock �only� rose by 30%.