booooooo.
On Friday, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission published its decision in the Absolute Poker cheating scandal.
This was a chance for the KGC to prove the skeptics wrong and show that it is a strong, independent body with the power and the will to impose harsh penalties to keep the gambling sites in line. Unfortunately, the Commission's decision falls well short of that goal. Players hoping for tough action that would deter poker sites from cheating their own players are sure to be disappointed. The Commission seems more concerned with assisting in AP's damage control effort than exacting any real punishment.
The first remarkable thing about the decision is its timing. Releasing bad news late on a Friday is a classic spin control technique designed to blunt the impact of the news. Although the exact timing of the release is unknown, it looks suspiciously as though the Commission were trying to help out AP by burying its final report.
Since news of the scandal first broke, damage control has clearly been AP's top priority. Details about what happened and who was responsible have been notably lacking. According to rumor, Absolute was afraid to name AJ Green publicly as a perpetrator because he threatened to air out AP's dirty laundry in public.
This threat of blackmail may be a serious concern for Absolute Poker, but it should have no effect on the KGC. Nevertheless, the Commission also refuses to identify the perpetrators or even state how many people were involved. In fact, the decision is remarkable for the fact that it discloses almost nothing that wasn't previously released by AP's publicity machine.
Like Absolute Poker, the KGC camouflages the lack of information by releasing a high level of detail on certain points. The account IDs involved and the time frame over which the cheating took place are specifically identified. This information was previouly released by AP in an effort to demonstrate the limited scope of the cheating. The more relevant question is, who was behind the accounts, and where are they now? This is a glaring omission from the report, and seems to serve no one's interest except AP and the perpetrators.
Possibly the only new information in the report is the fact that AP deleted gaming logs and records in an attempt to cover up the scandal. This is shocking and disturbing news, which may cause some to wonder whether AP management has really cleaned up its act, and whether the full scope of the cheating has in fact been discovered.
But once again, details are scarce. The report fails to state whether those involved in the cover-up are the same as the original perpetrators, or whether additional personnel were involved. The Commission requires only that the cheaters be removed from management responsibility at AP. It is possible that some of those involved in the cover-up are still active in AP management. For that matter, the cheaters themselves may still be on the AP payroll in non-management positions, since that is not precluded by the decision.
Lastly, the Commission imposes a $500,000 fine and requires AP to submit to random audits, hardly more than a slap on the wrist for a company raking in an estimated $2 million a week. No doubt Absolute Poker will consider it money well spent for a clean bill of health.
This was a chance for the KGC to prove the skeptics wrong and show that it is a strong, independent body with the power and the will to impose harsh penalties to keep the gambling sites in line. Unfortunately, the Commission's decision falls well short of that goal. Players hoping for tough action that would deter poker sites from cheating their own players are sure to be disappointed. The Commission seems more concerned with assisting in AP's damage control effort than exacting any real punishment.
The first remarkable thing about the decision is its timing. Releasing bad news late on a Friday is a classic spin control technique designed to blunt the impact of the news. Although the exact timing of the release is unknown, it looks suspiciously as though the Commission were trying to help out AP by burying its final report.
Since news of the scandal first broke, damage control has clearly been AP's top priority. Details about what happened and who was responsible have been notably lacking. According to rumor, Absolute was afraid to name AJ Green publicly as a perpetrator because he threatened to air out AP's dirty laundry in public.
This threat of blackmail may be a serious concern for Absolute Poker, but it should have no effect on the KGC. Nevertheless, the Commission also refuses to identify the perpetrators or even state how many people were involved. In fact, the decision is remarkable for the fact that it discloses almost nothing that wasn't previously released by AP's publicity machine.
Like Absolute Poker, the KGC camouflages the lack of information by releasing a high level of detail on certain points. The account IDs involved and the time frame over which the cheating took place are specifically identified. This information was previouly released by AP in an effort to demonstrate the limited scope of the cheating. The more relevant question is, who was behind the accounts, and where are they now? This is a glaring omission from the report, and seems to serve no one's interest except AP and the perpetrators.
Possibly the only new information in the report is the fact that AP deleted gaming logs and records in an attempt to cover up the scandal. This is shocking and disturbing news, which may cause some to wonder whether AP management has really cleaned up its act, and whether the full scope of the cheating has in fact been discovered.
But once again, details are scarce. The report fails to state whether those involved in the cover-up are the same as the original perpetrators, or whether additional personnel were involved. The Commission requires only that the cheaters be removed from management responsibility at AP. It is possible that some of those involved in the cover-up are still active in AP management. For that matter, the cheaters themselves may still be on the AP payroll in non-management positions, since that is not precluded by the decision.
Lastly, the Commission imposes a $500,000 fine and requires AP to submit to random audits, hardly more than a slap on the wrist for a company raking in an estimated $2 million a week. No doubt Absolute Poker will consider it money well spent for a clean bill of health.