Unibet Group PLC announced Tuesday that it will be striking out on its own with its online poker room, leaving MPN (Microgaming Poker Network) in early 2014 to become an independent room. The company has partnered with Relax Gaming, an Estonia-based firm that has developed internet poker, bingo, and casino gaming products.
“The environment in the online poker industry has changed over the years and we have come to the insight that being part of a poker network is not sustainable for Unibet in the long term,” said Unibet’s Head of Gaming, Daniel Eskola. “This project has given us the possibility to start from a blank piece of paper and define everything we believe is important for a fun poker experience. In a way, our goal is to bring the fun back to poker by creating software with a clear focus on the casual player.”
Eskola added that Unibet still has a solid relationship with Microgaming and will continue to offer the company’s Quickfire games in its casino.
The move continues a trend in the gambling industry to cater to the recreational customer, the player that logs in more to have fun than to make money at the tables. To that end, Unibet’s new software will allow players to change their screen name and avatar (possibly to afford players some protection from sharks, who will have trouble tracking them), as well as participate in missions and earn achievements, features that are popular amongst video gamers.
MPN, the network which Unibet is leaving, is currently ranked tenth in terms of cash game traffic, according to PokerScout.com, fielding an average of 1,250 players in the past seven days. This puts it in a tie with PokerStars’ French offering and 100 players behind Bodog, the largest poker room or network that still accepts customers from the United States.
It is not quite known right now what effect Unibet’s departure will have on MPN’s numbers, though we would guess it will be more than negligible, as Unibet is a fairly significant name in the world of online gaming. Other rooms on the network include Betsafe, Betsson, LadbrokesPoker, NordicBet, and 24hPoker.
In a sign that Unibet is more than committed to this move, it has invested €1.25 million to take a partial ownership stake in Relax Gaming.
Unibet’s move to independence may come as a bit of a surprise to many in the poker community. In a time when the industry is so competitive, it seems logical that unless you are a giant like PokerStars, partypoker, or Full Tilt Poker, it would be helpful to be in a network to take advantage of the aggregated player traffic. Even a poker room like Intertops, a very well-respected poker room that has had nothing but problems over the last couple years with its network partner, has yet to jump ship.