Kahnawake Claim Poker Cheating Resolved But Don't Prove It
After months of criticism here at Online Casino Advisory, and a public condemnation yesterday by Alfonse D'Amato and the Poker Players Alliance, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission released a statement in self-defense.
The Commission has been attacked for its handling of cheating scandals occurring on online poker sites run by two of its licensees, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. Upon discovering that software alterations had taken effect which allowed certain players to see all the cards dealt in a hand, the Commission responded by saying all cheating had been set up by employees hired by previous owners; that these workers had been terminated and software repaired; and cheated players refunded their money.
But the lack of prosecutions, combined with an intransigent refusal to demonstrate improvements in software or detection beyond a verbal guarantee, has brought a mounting hail of criticism against the Montreal enclave.
Murray Marshall, listed as a senior advisor at Kahnawake Gaming, rebutted charges made here and elsewhere, stating that the two cheating scandals are the only instances of problems during the Commission's nine years as a major regulatory agency of online casinos; of course, this means the only two that have been exposed so far.
Marshall also noted that the cheating was uncovered due to player diligence, which speaks to a lack of institutional control; that players, with their limited access, could spot such a troublesome problem before the Commission does not speak well of the regulation applied to online gambling here.
Marshall emphasized that all affected players had been reimbursed. But the only way to verify this would be to reveal which games were compromised; otherwise, the statement should say that all players aware of being cheated have been refunded. Without displaying the games found to have been affected and the players who partook, it seems likely only squeaky wheels got greased, while unaware players may never know why they lost.
Marshall insisted that corrective measures have been taken, but the gambler is left to take him at his word; there is no evidence or transparency to verify bare statements. And no prosecutions have emerged; perhaps the suspects could reveal much in public court about the development of the scandals that the Kahnawake do not wish spoken.
If the Kahnawake want the verbal assault to stop, they must do more than simply make press releases. They need to demonstrate exactly how similar instances will be prevented in the future, release publicly all information about compromised games, and prosecute any and all individuals involved in the scam. Until then, the public is unlikely to accept their legitimacy based on their word; that was done once, and look what happened.
