Top Stories of 2024, #3: Botting Continues to Concern Poker Community

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Dec 29, 2024 3 min read

We learned in 2024 that not only are bots still a problem at online poker sites, especially the unregulated ones, but they're becoming an even bigger problem than in the past.

Online poker is a great platform for learning how to play poker, playing poker for a living, or playing recreationally. But players should be aware that bots and real-time assistance (RTA) use aren't just going to magically disappear.

Over the past year, it hasn't just been the poker media to report on bot usage. Mainstream news outlets such as Bloomberg have covered the growing controversy.

Mainstream Media Exposes Online Poker Bots

Bloomberg News, a major media outlet in the US, wrote a lengthy piece in September on a Russian bot army that has conquered online poker. Kit Chellel, Senior Writer for Bloomberg, spoke with PokerNews after releasing the article to further discuss the investigation into a problem that is plaguing the poker community.

"I asked almost everyone I met, 'Do you worry when you’re playing online that there are going to be bots?' And they said they knew about it but didn’t worry about it. It felt to me after a while that poker exists in a kind of world that no longer is reality. It's still in the world before this technology came along and hasn’t quite adapted to it yet," Chellel said.

Much of the article is centered on Russia, with the current geopolitical landscape making it difficult for actual reporting to occur in Russia. Chellel would eventually meet those behind Bot Farm Corporation (or BF Corp.). in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, but he says that Russia is still the "center of gravity" for the practice of online poker botting, in part due to the level of technical skill on display in the country.

"Russia is the sort of habitat where bot makers can thrive, for the same reason that computer hackers do. There are a lot of highly educated, technically-minded people, and probably not quite as many opportunities for them as they might have if they lived in California, for example," Chellel continued.

Taking a Stance Against Bots

Most poker sites, especially the licensed and regulated sites, don't just sit around and let the bots take over the games. They fight back to ensure players are competing in legit games.

888poker is an example of a poker site that stayed vigilant against bots and RTAs in 2024. The internationally respected online poker platform paid out over $250,000 to players who were cheated by bots and RTA use.

Matan Krakow, Head of Poker Offering at 888poker, conveyed the commitment to addressing responsible gaming issues within online poker:

“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," Krakow told PokerNews in a January interview.

Krawkow continued to explain that 888poker consults with "top-notch" advisors who are experts in analyzing hand histories, a necessary skillset for identifying bots and RTA use.

PokerStars, GGPoker, WPT Global, and other regulated online poker sites spent countless hours and dollars fighting to prevent bot and RTA use over the past year. They will continue to do so in 2025 and beyond.

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