Partypoker Clamps Down on Bots

• Partypoker will crack down on bots
• $735,000 have been returned to players over fraudulent AI activity
• Poker professionals are sitting down with the Fraud Team to address the issue

GVC Holdings’ Partypoker is teaming up with poker professionals to address automated bot players that have been disrupting play at one of the world’s largest poker platforms.

Partypoker Addresses Bot Fraud Head On

Partypoker will step up its efforts to eradicate non-human players known as bots. Bots have been a common problem that poker platforms have been faced with. In the case of Partypoker, the company has been taking comprehensive measures to clamp down on bots while doing right by its customers.

Reported 277 bot accounts were closed between December 2018 and March 2019 with estimated $735,000 restored to various players on the platform. Bots have allowed players to gain an unfair advantage over other participants in the platform.

We take great pride in being open and honest with you, our valued customers, and are pleased to confirm 277 ‘bot’ accounts have been closed and $734,852.15 has been redistributed between December 2018 and March 2019. https://t.co/FLwl27Q7CT 18+. Play responsibly. begambleaware pic.twitter.com/CbxPHbdAwh

— partypoker (@partypoker) April 9, 2019

However, the company is finally addressing the issue head-on. The Poker Fraud Team GVC’s cardroom uses consists of experts who have been around poker for years. Some of the participants are professional players who have the skill set to look into suspicious cases.

The efforts have been so largely successful, although the 280-odd banned accounts point to a problem that the platform hasn’t been addressing in the past.

More Resources Needed to Address the Issue

Partypoker has apparently allocated resources to tackle the issue expediently, but given the scale of the problem, this may not be enough. Officially, the GVC Holdings-owned company employs a small team of experts to address the recent increase in bot activity, but some users think that more efforts are needed.

So far, Partypoker has given no indication that it would rev up the resources it allocates to fight bots, which could also be indicatory that the t. However, the platform now urges players who suspect bot activity to be taking place. This will alert the team to cases that they may take longer to spot in the big picture.

There have been reasons to be optimistic, though, with Patrick Leonard, Partypoker’s ambassador, speaking to iGmingBusiness and expressing his satisfaction with the level of technological advancement that has been put in tackling the problem.

Two years ago, it wouldn’t have been possible, but after seeing the security department first hand, the team working there and the tools they are using, I’m very confident now that they can tackle people trying to play against the rules.

Bots Hit Free Play Games

Bot activity has been growing at places such as Zynga Poker. Even though the game is free to play, it still managed to generate roughly $34 million in revenue in 2018. The platform has been struggling to separate bots from real players, which points to a high level of sophistication.

Understandably, Zynga Poker also has a larger user base which makes it inherently more difficult to address issues of this sort. The presence of bots continues to give certain players an unfair advantage over the rest and while this is the case, the reputation of these places will continue to slump.

What’s needed, apparently, is more resources.