888poker Catches 161 RTA Users; Refunds Over $360 000!
When you think of poker back in the days when whiskey-drinking cowboys in the saloons played it, you probably don’t think of it as a gentleman’s game. However, this is far from true. Being caught cheating red-handed back in the days was not looked upon lightly , and presumably there were a couple of chairs flying when someone was caught with a couple of aces up their sleeve.
Unfortunately, cheating has always been around in almost all kinds of games/sports, and poker is no exception. Even though safety precautions are getting better and better, there are still people that manages to cheat the game, both in live and online poker.
That’s why we’re delighted to hear that 888poker were able to identify cheaters on their site and block them from the 888poker tables in 2023. Not only that, but they are also refunding a hefty amount to the players who have been victimized by this disgusting behavior!
RTA Users Banned
Even though online poker security measures have evolved a lot during the last couple of years, there are still some players that manages to cheat at the poker tables through the use of various tools. RTA is short for Real-Time Assistance and comes in the form of a software that players can use to get answers on how to play a certain hand in real time. Of course, this is not acceptable considering it gives those players quite the unfair opportunity.
888poker are really showing how much they care for their players, and that they strive for a safe, enjoyable online poker experience. They recently went on a mission trying to identify as many players (or should we say cheaters?) using the AI RTA tool in 2023 as possible. The purpose of the mission was to bring justice to not only the 888poker players, but to the online poker community in general.
The result is astounding. 888poker managed to identify and block 161 accounts using RTA or similar AI bots during 2023. Not only will the site never have to deal with these players again, but 888poker also managed to retrieve over $100 000 from the cheaters. 888poker then took around $250 000 out of their own pockets and refunded a total amount of $362 893 to the 4 068 players who had been scammed last year.
Never Surrender!
Quite the amazing feat from 888poker, but they won’t stop there. Head of Poker Offering at 888poker, Matan Krakow, and his team will never give up the battle trying to make online poker as secure as possible:
”Our continued progress in tackling bots stems from the understanding that it is crucial in order to ensure that 888poker continues to provide an enjoyable, safe, and level playing field for all our players.
This has been driven not only by our increased investment in our detection capabilities but also through the continued support and cooperation of our players, who have an important role to play in helping provide us with vital information about players they think are using AI and RTA.
It is not only important for us to detect and block accounts using AI, but also to make sure that players who lost to accounts using illegal software, get properly compensated. This year we paid approximately $250 000 to players out of our own pockets when it was not possible to retain the funds from blocked accounts.
It’s an ongoing effort, and we will continue to do all in our power to ensure we keep poker fun and fair, and listening to our players will continue to be a key factor to progress on this front.”
In 2024, 888poker continues the work with implementing new technology on their site in order to disable bots and make the poker experience at 888poker more safe, fair and enjoyable.
