Ignition Clarifies: Viral Bot Farm Video Is From 2022

Poker pro Martin Zamani shared a controversial video over the weekend that once again sparked concern regarding the use of bots in online poker. 

The short clip appeared to show a “massive bot farm” on Ignition and Bovada, with multiple rooms full of computers running tables through VPNs, but no actual players present.

“They’ve Known About It for Ages“

Zamani, who explained he did not make the video or operate the bots, did not reveal the source of the footage. However, he did express frustration over the situation. 

“They’ve known about it for ages and done nothing. It’s high stakes and this isn’t the entire operation either and they just don’t care,” he said.

The video quickly drew attention, prompting Ignition to respond on Tuesday. The company said the footage is not recent and actually dates back to 2022. 

Ignition also went on to confirm that all the accounts that were shown in the video have since been deleted, with additional accounts that were discovered during a review also getting removed.

The gaming operator emphasized that it does not tolerate cheating and encouraged players to report any suspicious activity to help improve security.

Despite the clarification, some players asked whether those affected by the 2022 botting incidents had received refunds, something that Ignition did not publicly address that question in the statement.

100 Bots Allegedly Joined a Bovada Tourney in 2024

Zamani later responded to the Tuesday statement by posting a screenshot from the same source as the original video, with his new post hinting that 100 bots participated in a 2024 tournament on Bovada. 

The casino shares a player pool with Ignition, thus Zamani kept concerns about current bot activity alive.

Online poker’s struggles with the problem of bots are not new, with AI advances and automation making it increasingly easy for skilled users to run automated systems that play on their behalf.

What once required technical expertise can now be done with readily available programs, creating ongoing challenges for online platforms and players alike.

ClubWPT Gold’s social media team was quick to respond to the controversy by issuing a statement saying that their main concern is to be “serious where it matters: making sure our players don’t get fleeced by a bunch of obese nerds running a bot farm in their stepdad’s garage.’

Similarly, CoinPoker transparently shared their approach to bots: “Ban early, ban quickly”, adding that they recently discovered and banned 98 bot accounts and gave back more than $156,000 to affected players.

PokerStarsUSA also found it suitable to talk about their “integrity team made up of 60 specialists” who use “purpose-built software to detect, investigate and resolve potential occurrences of collusion, multi-accounting or prohibited software use.”