The MPN is celebrating its tenth birthday. Originally known as Prima Poker, then the Microgaming Poker Network, the MPN was launched in March 2003.
“The MPN is one of poker’s best loved and longest established networks,” said Lydia Melton, head of network games at Microgaming.
“We’ve seen so many changes on the network and in the industry in the last 10 years - the rise of regulated markets and loss of other markets, software innovation and nearly five billion hands dealt at our tables.
“I’m really excited about what could happen in the next 10 years,” said Melton.
The MPN was first to market with survivor tournaments, an innovative and fast-paced tournament format in which players with the smallest chip stacks are periodically eliminated. It was also the first network to launch a mobile client for Android devices, the first to offer anonymous tables and the first network to offer a fast-fold poker variant, Blaze Poker.
In 2011, the Network Management Board was formed; a group which includes operator representatives and independent industry experts, designed to steer the network in the right direction. One of the NMB’s first successes was True Value, a unique method of allocating rake to operators, which rewards those who acquire and reactivate players.
Today, the network is home to a number of new operators - including Betsson, Paf and iGame Malta - alongside long-standing licensees such as Unibet, Stan James and 32Red.
The MPN’s tenth anniversary coincides with the release of the network’s brand new Bad Beat Jackpot, which offers opted-in players a better chance at frequent payouts.
