Online poker operator PokerStars announced on Thursday that it will reimburse players of PKR after the latter poker room was shut down in early May due to serious financial issues.
PokerStars pointed out that there were no strings attached to its decision to return players their funds and that it just wanted to do what was right. In order for PKR players to be able to get back their money, they will have to open an account with Amaya’s poker brand, if they do not have one already.
PokerStars explained that it has signed an agreement with a court-appointed Administrator who has been overseeing PKR’s bankruptcy proceedings since its owners filed for bankruptcy two months ago. Under the aforementioned agreement, PokerStars will be able to restore players’ balances in their entirety.
The online poker room may be the good Samaritan saving bankrolls built through long hours of play, but it is also important to note that it will probably benefit significantly from the move. Just as PokerStars itself pointed out in a post on its corporate blog, part of its customers were PKR customers as well. However, there is a portion of PKR customers that are yet to open an account with the world’s largest poker brand.
As stated above, they will have to open such an account in order to be reimbursed for the losses incurred by PKR’s closure. And some of them will probably decide to stay on PokerStars. It is true that the Isle of Man-based operator is the world’s largest to offer online poker. However, customer acquisition and retention will always be an important part of its growth strategy.
What Happened to PKR?
It was in early May when first indications that the poker room was experiencing certain issues appeared. It took several days before any official statement was released, but when that happened it became clear that the brand was shut down due to serious financial difficulties and that owners PKR Ltd. and PKR Technologies Ltd. were seeking financial advice. Reportedly, around 60,000 players were affected by PKR’s closure and they will all now be refunded by PokerStars.
The poker room was launched in 2006, which made it among the oldest ones in the industry. It was originally licensed by Alderney authorities and later on obtained licenses from the UK Gambling Commission and the Danish Gambling Authority.
PKR was best known for offering in-house 3D software that allowed players customize their own 3D characters to represent them at the online poker tables. Prior to its closure, PKR was part of Microgaming’s MPN network, which it joined in March 2016.
