PKR AND MICROGAMING JOIN FORCES IN A LANDMARK AGREEMENT

Friday, 12 February 2016

PKR AND MICROGAMING JOIN FORCES IN A LANDMARK AGREEMENT

Just a few days ago, on the 8^th of February 2016, an announcement was made that PKR had signed a landmark agreement to join with Microgaming Poker Network (MPN).

After a decade of running its own standalone platform, PKR has finally decided to make a move and join forces with MPN. The details revealed and the statements from CEO’s indicate a mutually beneficial, hopeful boost to both sides of the agreement.

Chris Welch, a CEO of PKR said in a statement:  

PKR has survived (and sometimes thrived) for 10 years as a stand-alone poker room, but neither our staff, investors nor players are content with 'survival', and we have ambitious plans…We want to give you the best poker experience possible but with the biggest tournaments, and games available every minute of the day. This move allows us to remain true to our video games roots while giving you more choice, more opponents and more prize money- the best of both worlds.

MPN is currently 10th on the Pokerscout's Online Poker Traffic Report while PKR remains well below on the 38th spot. When joined (by the end of this month) the combined result should take them as far as 8th place on the list, just one place short of PartyPoker.

Roger Raatgever, the CEO of Microgaming released the following statement:

“We’re incredibly proud to have signed PKR on an exclusive basis for both poker and casino…We’re now seeing the fruits of our labour with PKR able to join the growing MPN whilst retaining its unique software. 2016 is shaping up to be an incredible year for Microgaming and the MPN.”

PKR, famous for its groundbreaking 3D poker platform will keep its signature look and feel while significantly expanding its player pool. There will not be any harmful platform and software changes so on launch day, all users will be able to log in and play using the same software and platform they used before. Mr. Welch also commented on this as well as on the other coming changes the merger will bring:

We are still totally committed to our 3D world, and to our community, as these are the two things that have got us this far. Being able to tap into a bigger player pool just makes sense… it's a ground-breaking moment for PKR. I hope you go all-in with us and see where it leads!...On the day of launch, you'll log on to the same 3D poker client as normal, but you'll see six times as many players online, three times as many tournaments every day and over €3.5 million in monthly tournament prizes

Other important changes will also be made. The currency will be changed from U.S. dollar to Euro and the new loyalty scheme named “the PKR Poker VIP Club” will also be announced:

The overwhelming majority of you will be better rewarded than before." said Welch.

PKR will also launch a new banking section with up to 13 different currencies available and a brand new Casinos called: PKR Casino and PKR Vegas, both offering over €7 million in jackpots.

This certainly seems like a significant event that will benefit both companies and players alike and possibly make a shift in the industry standings.