PKR Poker - Bucking The Industry Trend

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Gambling Blogs

2007 has been a year to forget for the vast majority of online gaming companies. Share prices have crashed, customer bases have been wiped out, and years of dramatic growth have been followed by drastic cost cutting and consolidation. It's been a harsh competitive environment to operate within, and established industry companies have been hit hard.

Against this backdrop, one start up company has defied the industry trend and has experienced phenomenal growth, becoming the fastest growing poker room in the world. From a standing start a little over 12 months ago, PKR Poker has taken the online gaming industry by storm. Based on their current performance levels, they are well placed to become one of the biggest players in the online poker market in 2008.

The online gaming bubble not only burst but blew up in spectacular fashion with the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October 2006. Overnight online gambling became illegal in the United States, and a number of leading poker operators were hit hard.

This was hardly the ideal environment that a new start up gaming company should be attempting to launch in. Yet, with the back drop of what could easily be described as an industry recession, PKR Poker not only

launched, but have gone on to experience phenomenal growth, surpassing their millionth player sign up in

less than 12 months. And what's even more impressive is the fact that they don't accept real money players from the US.

Their success has been acknowledged within the industry. PKR Poker has come from no-where to appear at number 39 in EGaming Reviews Top 50 industry big hitters. PKR Poker are now rubbing shoulders with industry giants such as Betfair, Ladbrokes and William Hill. Interestingly enough, they appear within touching distance of industry veterans such as Victor Chandler, indicating that those companies that fail to keep up with the pace of change will ultimately be overtaken by more ambitious forward thinking organizations.

PKR's success raises a number of interesting questions, most obvious of which is why one start up has bucked the industry trend and experienced phenomenal growth in a year when the industry as a whole has perished?

On first glance the answer is itself not clear. However it is possible to identify four underlying factors that have contributed to the success of PKR Poker over the last 12 months:

1. Product Differentiation

PKR clearly differentiated themselves from the competition with the launch of their 3D poker platform. Others had unsuccessfully tried 3D platforms in the past, yet PKR have managed to produce a platform that provides relatively fast game play and superb graphics. Their stated aim was to make online poker more realistic, and they have certainly achieved this ambition. Their product is so different and superior to anything else currently on the market that players are simply flocking to it in droves.

2. PKR Management Team

People make companies, and PKR have clearly developed a strong management team, avoiding the pitfall of

bringing in too many 'industry veterans', and instead recruiting a balanced management team capable of

delivering on the vision of Jez San and Leon Walters, its founders. They come with credentials as well,

with Jez obtaining the first OBE for services to the computer gaming industry, and others holding MBA's

from INSEAD, probably the world's most prestigious business school.

3. Marketing

PKR poker have invested heavily in marketing their product, and it's clear part of their strategy lies in attempting to attract new as well as existing players from other poker networks to their site. Heavyweight

advertising deals with industry giants like MSN has been backed up by well distributed slick in-game video

footage. (View PKR Poker Videos) They have managed to successfully create a buzz both within and outside of

the gaming world, and this has resulted in generating an enormous amount of traffic to their site. Their

marketing strategy has been clear, ambitious and well delivered.

4. Continuous improvement

It would have been all too easy for the team at PKR to sit back after their official launch and to admire the

gem of a product they had managed to produce. Yet, they have barely stood still over the last year and

have continued to role out improvements to the software on a regular basis. They have positively taken on user feedback, and have been aggressive in improving the look and feel of the 3D platform. The online poker experience is now slicker and faster than anything else on the market.

The future therefore looks bright for the team at PKR. If the anti-gambling legislation is ever turned around then they will be well positioned to capitalise on this massive market.

However, they will face a number of challenges over the next 12 months.

Complaints still exist that the software is a little cumbersome on computers with older graphics cards, and

this remains an area which needs to be addressed.

In addition, to the surprise of many in the industry,they are shortly to role out a casino product. The

surprise lies not so much with them delving into the world of casino gaming, but more the fact that they

have gone against the concept of developing the software themselves, and have instead made an

agreement with Playtech, a leading gaming software manufacturer. Whilst this undoubtedly offers

opportunities to cross sell to their existing player base, it does take them away from their core area of

expertise.

Additional threats will also come from the leading software gaming manufacturers such as Microgaming and

Cryptologic. Both firms have been trying unsuccessfully for years to produce a viable 3D platform, but their attempts have been heavily focused on their casino rather than their poker product. They would be negligent to ignore the fact that the future lies with a 3D platform, and it's only a matter of time before these industry giants deliver a 3D product capable of competing with PKR's.

Until that time comes, PKR will continue to reap the rewards of being the first to the market with a viable

3D platform. The industry as a whole may have had a year to forget in 2007, but for PKR business couldn't

be better. If the industry giants led by Party Gaming and Poker Stars weren't looking over their shoulder,

they are now.

More information on PKR and 3D poker can be found here: PKR Poker

About the author:

Bristol based Dan Crowley is an analyst specialising in the online gaming industry. He can be contacted via email at danielcrowley1972@yahoo.com

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