Over $1.2 Million Reimbursed to Players: 888Poker’s Transparent Fraud Response

With the rise in the popularity of online poker, there’s also been an increase in fraud. While it’s a significant concern of professional and amateur players, many poker rooms remain quiet about how to combat it. However, 888poker is different and has led by example for the last few years in how to address fraud and cheaters.

Fraud in Online Poker

As technology develops, new ways to commit online fraud pop up. AI bot accounts and cheaters using RTA (Real-Time Assistance) are all too familiar. RTA is any software that gives players advice while playing the game, giving them an unfair advantage over the other players.

However, operators know about these tools and are moving to block them. One of the leading poker rooms stopping cheaters is 888poker, whose mission is to provide a platform with integrity.

888Poker’s Approach

This room is one of the few, if not the only, consistently transparent on how many accounts it blocks as AI or RTA frauds. The company dedicates vast resources to combatting AI bots and RTA software. As such, the poker room has returned over $1.2 million of the money it confiscates from fraudulent accounts to players who fall victim to these unfair tactics.

In 2023 alone, the operator returned over $363k to more than 4000 players. That’s about $90 per player on average, and the company has closed down over 161 fraudulent accounts. Not only that, but about 70% of the returned funds come from 888poker’s pockets to reimburse players impacted by bot accounts and RTA.

Confiscated Funds In Recent Years

In 2023, the brand has stepped up its game, as it’s the most “lucrative’ year yet if you look at how much money it claimed from fraudulent accounts. In 2021, the brand confiscated around $100k, with 85 accounts closed. In 2022, it was more than $287k that it returned to around 6,800 players and blocked 252 accounts.

Part of this increased success in preventing fraud is its approach to discovering cheaters. The Fair Gaming team has grown significantly. It often seeks professional players, fraud experts, and sophisticated software guidance. All this helps them to detect non-human patterns.

Other Brands’ Response

Many other brands do the same, but none as dedicatedly as 888poker. WPN and partypoker both used to disclose how many accounts it blocked and how much funds it returned. However, these rooms haven’t been doing it in recent years. PokerStars and GGPoker both also dabbled in it, but neither keeps up consistent fraud reporting.

A recent wave of cheating and fraud has overtaken the industry. For example, GGPoker’s security breach made vulnerable flop and turn all-in equities. GGPoker immediately took action to prevent further security breaches. Still, it shows the increased risks of AI bots and hacker software.

The Future of Online Poker

888Poker continues to set an example of how poker rooms should approach fraudulent accounts and cheaters. With the brand’s extreme transparency, players feel more secure when playing there, and trust between the brand and players is starting to bloom. We look forward to how 888poker continues to improve its fair gaming and how it might influence the poker industry.