The Rise And Rise Of PKR

Regular gamers will know that October 2006 was a dark time for the gambling community in general. The Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) saw American players forbidden from wagering at their favorite sites with immediate effect.

It was a law that angered many, and had a huge effect on publicly listed gaming companies with share prices crashing over night which led to a huge amount of redundancies across the US. Three years on the battle is still being fought with many leading politicians still looking to over turn the bill and invite online gambling to become the major force that it once was.

At a time when household names such as for instance Party Gaming were seeing their share price drop by almost 80%, one little known poker room was starting to flourish. Just a year after launching, PKR had already registered their one millionth player and 12 months after that these were officially proclaimed as the fastest growing poker room in Europe.

Just how had PKR managed to succeed where the others had failed? How had they managed to buck a trend that was causing so many bigger brands such problems?

There are probably a few reasons for this, but the major one was that their product was so different to the rest that was on the market. The PKR software uses stunning 3D graphics to re-create luscious surroundings that cannot be found anywhere else online. Players can create digital personas which move so smoothly and react to the action that goes on around them. It's an environment that basically draws the player to such an extent that they feel as though they're playing in a live casino. Three years after the UIGEA was passed, there is still no poker room around that will touch PKR for the appearance and feel of their software.

Any company looking to succeed in such difficult conditions needs a strong management team and PKR had just that. Co-Founder Jez San was a professional in the online gaming industry and had a strong track record as an entrepreneur. Highly talented individuals were recruited to build up their offering and a remarkable marketing strategy was put in place.

By marketing the merchandise before the official launch date, the PKR team could not only gather feedback on the development but also accumulated a high amount of expectation which spread around poker circles.

Once the poker room premiered, players were offered a choice of PKR bonus codes which gave them up to $2, 000 free when they made their first deposit - it's a promotion which is still one of the strongest available in online poker today.

PKR have made sure that they haven't rested on the laurels though. A demand for continual improvement has led to regular software updates with much more environments being made available to players and emphasis being placed on a strong community feel. Today, PKR have expanded to host their particular TV channel and 99poker publish a regular magazine for their players.

The growth of the PKR poker room is testament to a lot of hard work and a clear vision that is followed immaculately. Its launch opened the doorway to another whole level of on line gaming and it's really my opinion that three years later it is still revolutionizing the poker industry.