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A public outcry from the online poker community regarding Bodog Poker’s implementation of “anonymous software” has resulted in all but two customers actually closing their accounts, according to the CalvinAyre.com website. Ayre is the founder of Bodog Poker.
Despite the threats of account closures and “taking my money elsewhere”, according to the Bodog Poker Customer Service manager, call volume is higher but they’ve seen no spike in payouts and only two people have followed through with account closures.
Poker players and popular websites that cover the industry like PokerFuse.com have condemned the practice of implementing anonymous poker tables.
Nick Jones offered his own editorial on the practice at PokerFuse.com yesterday:
One of the fundamental parts of poker – online or live, casino or home game, tournament or cash – is that it is social. Ask any recreational poker player – be it a Vegas vacationer, anESPN viewer, an online player or a home game regular – what they enjoy about poker and they will tell you it is the tells, the reads, the psychology and the table banter. It is what makes poker the game it is.
Bodog Poker has countered that, by offering the anonymous tables, players and traffic monitoring websites will be unable to engage in data mining activities, which provide pros with a significant advantage over the recreational players Bodog is trying to attract.
Bodog, which is under the cross hairs of the US Attorney’s Office in Baltimore, has also expressed concern in the past related to traffic monitoring websites and the public disclosure associated with its business.
Last week, a group of individuals were able to hack into Bodog’s new software within a matter of minutes. The company has said it is in the process of implementing new security measures as a result.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
