ONLINE POKER SCANDAL FINALISED?

18 January 2008

KGC imposes half million dollar fine on Absolute Poker


With little fanfare, and buried three clicks deep on an uncopyable .pdf file, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission announced its findings on the Absolute Poker cheating scandal on January 11, effectively bringing to a close one of the worst cheating incidents yet in Internet poker (see previous InfoPowa reports)

The statement starts with a brief overview of the history of the incident, referring to cheating play as "impugned activities." It goes on to advise that the KGC commissioned its "approved agent" Gaming Associates to investigate the issue in a 10 week project that included enquiries at AP's diverse locations, with the objective of ensuring any prejudiced players were reimbursed, measures were taken to prevent a recurrence and to ascertain whether AP had contravened any Kahnawake regulations.

Following a more than 2 week study of the Gaming Associates report, the KGC's findings are included in the statement. The document is remarkable in that it does not detail those responsible, who clearly were closely involved in AP's affairs. Nor does it provide details of total compensation or whether criminal charges were placed, and there is no technical detail on how the cheating was accomplished.

The findings of the KGC are listed as:

* From August 14 2007 over a period of 6 weeks certain player accounts were used to cheat other players in live games at Absolute Poker using software that enabled the cheaters to view the hole cards of their opponents, resulting in unfair play.

* The accounts responsible for the cheating are named as Graycat, Payup, Steamroller, Potripper, XXCashmoneyXX aka SupercardM55, Doubledrag and RonfalcoXXB aka Romnaldo. AP has been directed to remove the individuals behind these account names from playing any role in future AP affairs, suggesting that those involved were insiders or closely associated with the poker room.

* Persons "associated with Absolute Poker's operations" deleted certain key gaming logs after the cheating, a move which hampered but did not preclude a finding being reached. Other than this, AP cooperated during the investigation.

* Gaming Associates found no evidence that AP as a corporate entity was involved in the cheating either at director or "principal ownership" level.

* However, the unidentified principals behind Absolute Poker failed to contact the KGC within 24 hours of discovering the incident as required by licensing regulations.

* Gaming Associates found that AP made "expeditious efforts" to appropriately reimburse those players prejudiced, with interest. KGC urges any aggrieved player not yet paid to contact the Commission, which will ensure the complaint is addressed by AP. There is a 60 day window for this, commencing 11 January 2008.

* The finding certifies that Absolute Poker has taken appropriate but unspecified action to address the vulnerability in its systems.

Accordingly the KGC finds that Absolute Poker breached certain Kahnawake regulations regarding dishonest play, failure to report within 24 hours and not keeping game logs for 5 years after an incident.

The consequences for Absolute Poker are both pecuniary and compliance related.

* AP is to be randomly audited by KGC over the next two years at AP's cost. The company is enjoined to immediately implement a "continuous compliance program" and remedial measures as directed by KGC.

* Those (presumably in-house) persons responsible for the "impugned activities" are to be permanently removed from office.

* Absolute Poker is to post an unspecified "security deposit" with the KGC valid for two years to offset the cost of any further breaches of Kahnawake law, and the company is to pay all costs associated with the Gaming Associates investigation.

* Finally, a fine of US$ 500 000 is imposed on AP, to be paid within the next 60 days.

The statement is signed by the chairman of the KGC, David Montour and two Commissioners, Melanie Mayo and Kevin Kennedy.

The online poker player community will be less than happy at the lack of detail in the KGC statement, especially regarding confirmation of how the cheating was accomplished, who was involved and what criminal charges have been attempted.

Only time will tell if Absolute Poker will regain the trust and acceptance of the market.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa