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The latest in a string of fraud cases has brought attention to growing security concerns within the online poker community. A large group of Chinese players were found by online company Pokerstars to be colluding with one another while playing in its Double or Nothing Sit and Go tournaments. By engaging in “softplay” with fellow members during high-stakes games, the group as a whole was able to stay in tournaments longer and drastically affect the equity of other players. Over the course of just a few months this tactic, as estimated by online players, netted the group upwards of $750,000 in profit and is known to have victimized at least 25,000 players. Pokerstars is in the midst of compensating those affected by the plot after having concluded its own investigation. As of July of this year the company has refunded cheated customers “$2.1 mil…and has pledged to step up security” (Goldberg, Adrien. “Can the world of online poker chase out the cheats?” BBC Article on cheaters).

With Pokerstars, and many other companies like it, continuing to expand, security issues like these are on the rise. Pokerstars is quoted as saying that this case, “has highlighted the need for us to improve our proactive systems” (Goldberg), yet with the overwhelming amount of complaints filed on potential fraud and the increasing use of methods that are not easily detected by security software, companies are more often in the position of picking up the pieces retroactively. And while accusations of cheating are often less difficult to investigate online poker versus for live events, companies frequently do not practice transparency in their policing methods or in their policies for determining compensation, leaving many players in the dark as to when, and for how much, they’ve been cheated online.

Pokerstars’ policy for managing complaints appears to be that a player who reports suspected cheaters will receive a full account of the findings of the company’s investigation and, should the suspects be found guilty of fraud, the original reporter will receive full compensation for games presented as well as others connected to the investigation. Those involved with cheating will have their accounts frozen, with their earnings confiscated and used to refund rival players. Players affected that were not involved in the original investigation, however, do not receive a full description of the case and, while compensated, cannot be certain to what extent their return captures the amount of losses suffered. The potential for discrepancies are great as players not only encounter financial losses during individual games but also, with the longer a pattern of fraud goes unnoticed, possible negative affects upon their potential earnings through stacking time and resources against unfair odds and having their records towards earning titles altered by losses.

While most online poker games remain safe for players, this most recent large-scale act of collusion, paired with vague policing methods, points to a clear need for improved security for any gaming company hoping to keep their customers.

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