Ultimate Bet Comes Clean . . . . Sorta

Ultimate Bet issued a press release detailing the results of their investigation of the suspected NioNio superuser account.  If you were not aware of the cheating scandal over at UB you can either read this very detailed analysis on 2+2 or go with the more concise Bill’s Notes:

• Player realizes that a specific player is running 155BB/100 win rate against him for the tune of $293,677.
• Player posts suspicions on 2+2 and soon other players confirm astronomical win rates by this same player.
• The 2+2 crew cobble together enough bits and pieces of information to make a compelling case that this player was cheating. 

I don’t think it comes as much of a surprise that UB eventually concluded that the user of that and other accounts indeed did have a backdoor into the system and was able to view other player’s hole cards.  What should come as a surprise is that Ultimate Bet is owned by the same company as Absolute Poker.  When it was proven beyond a doubt that an employee/consultant of the company had a backdoor to the system and was bleeding the players dry Absolute swore up and down that they were taking every measure to ensure that it would never happen again. 

I think the normal course of action for any company who had been breached in such a flagrant manner – by an insider – would be to batten down the hatches and enforce a strict audit and compliance program across the organization (including sister companies).  How did a player with such an amazing win rate at nosebleed stakes go unnoticed?  Surely a player of that magnitude was generating large amounts of rake which should have had him on the radar of someone in CS or Marketing if only to keep a good customer happy.  Surely the size of his cash outs or his account balance would have generated some attention. 

While I applaud UB for eventually owning up to the breach and offering to compensate players who had losses to the discovered superuser accounts I cannot help but scratch my head why in both cases the perpetrators were never named (by Absolute / UB – 2+2 and other sources outed the Absolute individual).  Why has Absolute not filed any sort of criminal complaint against AJ Green?  I know that it’s hard to find a jurisdiction but surely even Costa Rica’s legal system would be a good place to start.

I was convinced that the Absolute scandal would be the end of them.  Not only did it not kill they but it was a minor blip and they’ve grown since then.  I’ve fielded several dozen phone calls and emails from people within my company, within the industry, and just good old players asking "How is Absolute still in business after that?"  Well, I really don’t know so I won’t even offer a guess on what this latest scandal does to UB. 

All I do is suggest that players play on sites within the regulated jurisdiction of gaming commission that has strict enforcement rules.  The Alderney Gambling Control Commission and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority are two that I am familiar with and can attest to the fact that they don’t rubber stamp applicants.  Even if only for your own education take a little time reading through the regulatory requirements for Alderney.  I think they serve as a good model should the US ever decide to regulate online gaming. 

Ultimate Bet’s Press Release

ULTIMATEBET ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING UNFAIR PLAY

MONTREAL, CANADA (MAY 29, 2008) — Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG ("Tokwiro"), proprietors of UltimateBet.com ("UltimateBet"), one of the world’s largest online card rooms, today announced the results of its lengthy investigation into allegations of unfair play, which was triggered by concerns about an account named ‘NioNio’. Tokwiro has worked diligently in cooperation with its regulatory body, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission ("KGC"), and with independent third-party experts to conduct a thorough investigation that included a comprehensive review of hand histories and game data, thorough analyses of software and network security, and audits of its security practices and procedures.

The investigation has concluded that certain player accounts did in fact have an unfair advantage, and that these accounts targeted the highest limit games on the site. The individuals responsible were found to have worked for the previous ownership of UltimateBet prior to the sale of the business to Tokwiro in October 2006. Tokwiro is taking full responsibility for this situation and will immediately begin refunding UltimateBet customers for any losses that were incurred as a result of unfair play.

The fraudulent activity was enabled by unauthorized software code that allowed the perpetrators to obtain hole card information during live play. The existence of this vulnerability was unknown to Tokwiro until February 2008 and existed prior to UltimateBet’s acquisition by Tokwiro in October 2006. Our investigation has confirmed that the code was part of a legacy auditing system that was manipulated by the perpetrators. Gaming Associates, independent auditors hired by the KGC, have confirmed that the software code that provided the unfair advantage has been permanently removed.

Throughout the investigation of this incident, Tokwiro’s consistent priorities have been:

1. To permanently remove the ability to engage in unfair play;
2. To complete its investigation and come to a full understanding of what occurred;
3. To refund the affected customers; and
4. To implement measures that prevents future incidents.

The Company said, "We would like to thank our customers for their patience, loyalty and support, as well as for their understanding that we are doing everything we can to correct this situation. The staff and management of UltimateBet are fully committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our players, and we want to assure customers of our unwavering resolve to monitor site security with every resource at our disposal."

Investigation Timeline

These are the key events in the course of the incident.

• January 2008: UltimateBet is alerted to suspicions of unfair play on the part of the account "NioNio". Within 24 hours, UltimateBet contacts the KGC to provide formal notice that UltimateBet has initiated an investigation of the incident. UltimateBet subsequently forwarded a copy of all related data to the KGC.
• January 2008: The "NioNio" account and related accounts are suspended pending further investigation.
• February 2008: Preliminary findings indicate abnormally high winning statistics for the suspect accounts. After discussions with the KGC, UltimateBet engages third-party gaming experts to assist with the analysis.
• February 2008: Investigators confirm that the suspect accounts are associated with individuals who had worked for UltimateBet under the previous ownership.
• February 2008: UltimateBet discovers the unauthorized code that allowed the perpetrators to obtain
  hole card information during live play. The code was part of a legacy auditing system that was manipulated by the perpetrators of the fraud.
• February 2008: UltimateBet immediately removes the unauthorized code and works with the KGC and with third-party auditors to verify that the security hole has been eliminated.
• March 2008: Six player accounts are confirmed to have participated in this scheme. No accounts were deleted at any point, although some account names were changed multiple times. The following account names are known to have been used in the fraudulent activity: NioNio, Sleepless, NoPaddles, nvtease, flatbroke33, ilike2win, UtakeIt2, FlipFlop2, erick456, WhackMe44, RockStarLA, stoned2nite, monizzle, FireNTexas, HeadKase01, LetsPatttty, NYMobser, and WhoWhereWhen.
• May 2008: The investigation confirms that the fraudulent activity took place from March 7, 2006 to December 3, 2007.
• May 2008: Gaming Associates certifies that the software code that enabled unfair play was removed from UltimateBet servers in February of 2008.
• May 2008: Customers affected by this incident are identified, and plans for corrective action are reviewed with the KGC.

Corrective Actions Taken

The following actions have been taken or are currently underway as a direct result of this investigation.

• The security hole identified in UltimateBet’s investigation has been permanently eliminated.
• UltimateBet is establishing a state-of-the-art software Security Center that consolidates and greatly enhances existing security capabilities. The first release of the new Security Center focuses solely on the immediate detection of abnormal winnings. Gaming mathematicians, poker professionals, and security software developers have all contributed to the specifications for the new Security Center.
• UltimateBet customers are no longer permitted to change account names unless they have suffered abuse in chat rooms. Requests for changes must be supported by proof of abuse and must be approved by the Chief Compliance Officer.
• In addition to its existing security department, UltimateBet has established a new specialized Poker Security team of professionals dedicated to fraud prevention.
• The refund process will begin immediately. The accounts associated with fraudulent activity did not use an unfair advantage in all play sessions. Regardless, UltimateBet is refunding all losses to these accounts.
• Accounts related to the fraudulent activity have been disabled, and the individuals associated with those accounts permanently banned from the site.
• UltimateBet has worked closely and transparently with its governing body, the KGC and its designated expert auditors, to determine exactly what happened, how it happened, and who was involved, and has taken action to prevent any possibility of this situation recurring.
• Tokwiro is pursuing its legal options in regard to this incident.

For further inquiries please contract press@ultimatebet.com