Costly Collusion At Pokerstars

BBC reports on Chinese collusion at Pokerstars The British Broadcasting Corporation reports this week on an investigation into the widely reported Chinese player collusion issue at Pokerstars in July Readers can find the full story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11250835, where highlights include: * 25 000 Pokerstars players were compensated a total of GBP1.63 million following the scam. * GBP 52 000 was paid out in an earlier issue where players became victims of bot action. * The availability of cellphone and IM technology has made collusion exchanges more difficult to intercept by operators. * However, the indications are that 95 percent of the action is safe and untainted by collusion. * Rapid growth at the online poker giant has created pressure on security staff trying to monitor suspicious action, with one ex-employee revealing that under pressure it is not unknown for staff to switch off automated alerts on suspicious playing patterns. However, security technology improvements are continuously being put in place. * Most collusion complaints are in fact unfounded and emanate from sore losers. * Annual revenues at Pokerstars are in excess of GBP911.6 million in an industry with an estimated annual value of GBP3.25 billion. * The latest issue was not reported to the Chinese authorities, although the Isle of Man-based Pokerstars has indicated that it would cooperate if approached. * Specialised Russian message boards often include exchanges setting up 'team play' – a euphemism for players interested in setting up collusion rings. * The extensive trackability of online poker technology enables operators to conduct detailed and accurate investigations with relative rapidity.