Absolute Poker Investigation Completed, $500,000 Fine Levied

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has completed its investigation of Absolute Poker (AP) following the “superuser” cheating scandal in which an AP insider had knowledge of opponents’ hole cards, allowing him to win a fortune from unsuspecting players.   

The Commissions findings included: 

1. Identification of the poker accounts used for cheating, as well as the person responsible.  AP has been ordered to remove this person from having any role in the company.
2. Gaming logs and records (i.e.: hand histories) associated with the cheating had been erased, which hampered the Commission’s investigation.  Other than this, the Commission was satisfied with AP’s cooperation.
3. There was no evidence that AP as a company had anything to do with the cheating, nor did any members of the Board of Directors or AP’s principal owners.
4. AP failed to report the issue to the Commission within 24 hours of its discovery.
5. AP did, however, make efforts to reimburse affected players, with interest.  Any players who have not been reimbursed and discover that they were affected have within 60 days of the report to contact AP.
6. AP has addressed any security concerns in a satisfactory manner. 

As a result, the Commission did determine that Absolute Poker breached certain terms of the Commission’s Regulations.  These breaches include the use of software, devices, or equipment to dishonestly obtain an unfair advantage, the failure to report the problem within 24 hours, the deletion of gaming records, which must be kept for five years, and the obstruction of the Inspector in the investigation.   

The Commission levied the following sanctions on Absolute Poker: 

1. All aspects of AP’s operations will be subject to random audits for two years, with all expenses paid by AP.
2. AP must implement a compliance program.
3. Anyone responsible for the cheating must be removed from any sort of role with AP.
4. AP was fined $500,000.
5. AP must pay a security deposit, which will be held by the Commission for two years, to cover any costs of any future breaches of the Regulations.
6. AP must pay all costs associated with the investigation.