Microgaming Announces Decision to Shut Down MPN

• MPN to be shut down in 2020.

• Microgaming to redistribute key resources.

• Bot problem is speculated to have contributed to the decision.

Renowned online gaming software provider Microgaming on September 20 announced that it has decided to close the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN), one of the oldest and most popular operations in the world of online poker. In the press release where the announcement was made, the Microgaming officials said that the online poker network was no longer viable and was therefore set to be shut down next year. However, no definite date has been specified for the pending closure of the network but it is expected to be somewhere within the second quarter of 2020.

The decision to do away with the online poker network came after the company conducted an extensive review of its online poker product strategy and portfolio. As it turns out, the Microgaming Poker Network did not fit the company’s poker growth strategy. Still, in its 16 years of existence, the poker network was one of the biggest contributors to the growth and prosperity of online poker.

Fortunately, players who have been enjoying playing on the poker network will still be able to access the services. That is, at least until it is officially put to sleep.

“In the run-up to the network closure, which will be fully detailed on the MPN blog in the coming weeks, access to online tournaments, promotions and cash games will remain available to players,” reads Microgaming’s statement.

What Next?

According to John Coleman, the chief executive officer of Microgaming, the company will be redistributing its key resources and personnel across the business once the poker network is shut down. Furthermore, the closure of the MPN does not mean that it will be the end of Microgaming’s foray into the world of poker. The company reportedly has lots of plans pertaining to the growth of that particular vertical and the details of these plans will be released very soon.

Needless to say, this is very sad news for the poker community. When the network dissolves, all of the independent poker rooms on the network will have to adjust appropriately and hopefully, a viable solution will be available at the time.

MPN’s Bot Problem

The announcement of the decision to shut down the Microgaming Poker Network comes shortly after the release of some information pertaining to bot activity. Bots have become a menace in the world of online poker and operators have been forced to go an extra mile in order to deal with them. The MPN has discovered a huge number of bots – it is possible that this might have been one of the issued that were considered during the extensive review where it was decided that the poker network had to be shut down.

Many other operators have been proactively fighting the use of bots on their platforms with some even resorting to extensive changes that have had varying degrees of success. For now, it seems like the battle could still be won despite concerns regarding smarter AI-powered bots.