The Poker Blacklist and MILLIONS

Blacklist follow-up

I am pleased that the debate about a global poker blacklist has stirred up plenty of discussion in the poker community. It is an important subject that deserves attention from online poker sites, live poker tour operators, and, more importantly, you, the players.

As discussed in my previous blog post there are a multitude of challenges with the introduction of a global poker blacklist and although it is a concept we are keen to explore, realistically this is not a short-term project. What we can do is protect partypoker LIVE events through our own blacklist that is enforced at all of our MILLIONS, PPC and Grand Prix Tours across the world. One of our core philosophies at partypoker is to recreate the thrill of a live poker experience when you play online. In the same manner, it would be remiss of us to promise a fun and fair playing environment in our online events, if those same cheaters are able to sit down opposite you at our live tables.

Many players spend hours honing their skills to become the best poker player they can be, and the vast majority do this fairly. However, there are some who break the rules, terms and conditions, and do not play poker in the spirit of the game. These people do not belong in the poker community and are not welcome at partypoker.

I am aware a discussion about any kind of blacklist poses a number of questions, such as the criteria someone must meet to be included and if there is any scope for forgiveness. What I will say on the matter at this time is that we at partypoker have a zero-tolerance policy towards players who are intentionally trying to gain an unfair advantage over others at our tables. I would like to reiterate that anyone banned at partypoker or other Entain brands is not welcome at any partypoker LIVE event.

If there are any questions around this topic, this is something I would be happy to address in a future blog post.

The importance of player reports

The partypoker Game Integrity teams monitor tens of thousands of players across the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am pleased to report that in 2021 we pro-actively detected 90%+ of fraudulent activity by our methods.

However, you, the players, have a vitally important role to play in our fight against cheating. I would ask that you remain vigilant at the tables when playing and report anything that seems amiss. This should apply not just to partypoker but anywhere you play online, cheats should not be allowed to prosper in our industry.

It does not matter how trivial a potential issue seems, report it to the Game Integrity team, and we guarantee we will thoroughly investigate the matter. Any information can be useful information to my teams and your reports help us build a more complete picture of the players or groups we are investigating.

Due to legal reasons, we cannot share any specific evidence or sensitive data related to our investigative processes. However, we promise to respond to each of your reports with the outcome of our investigation and whether, or not, action was taken against the reported accounts. As with any account banned by my teams, those banned as a result of a player report are added to the blacklist for partypoker LIVE events.

Every single report we receive is considered confidential information and will not be shared outside of the Game Integrity department. If you are more comfortable submitting information anonymously this is totally acceptable, and we would welcome you to do so.

If for any reason you need to contact Game Integrity or have information to share, we would recommend that you contact us via email at gameintegrity@partypoker.com or by visiting our Safer Poker webpage.

Game Integrity on Tour

Members of Game Integrity will be on the ground at the upcoming partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe festival in Barcelona. We understand that Game Integrity is a hot topic in the community at present and I will be holding an open forum about our work during the festival. I believe transparency is especially important in Game Integrity and I am proud to share the results of the work my teams are doing behind the scenes.

The time and location of the forum will be published on our event flyers in Barcelona. I would encourage you to come and talk to us about any concerns you may have about playing online or any other questions you may have.

I look forward to seeing you in sunny Spain.

Juha Pasanen
Head of Game Integrity