60 minutes – Ultimatebet / Absolute Cheating Scandal

December 3, 2008

The long awaited and predicabily generalising and inaccurate 60 minutes program about the UltimateBet / Absolute Poker cheating scandal has finally been aired. Much has been written and blogged about the 60 minutes program both before and after the broadcast.

In the end the programme wasn’t quite as negative as widely expected but still contained a fair few inaccuracies and generalising statements seemingly tarring the whole of online poker with the UB Absolute cheating brush.

While it’s great to see the holecard security and cheating issues at UB & Absolute WERE exposed (quite rightly) by the 60 minutes programme to a wider generally non online poker playing audience … a good thing IMHO

On the downside 60 minutes understanding and reporting of the online poker business as a whole was a best negative and at worst completely inaccurate … 60 minutes basically implied (with no evidence) that the whole industry was irresponsible, unregulated and could be behaving like UB and Absolute.

4king hell come on 60 minutes get a grip – what makes anything that isnt regulated and run by the American Gov’t suddenly “shadowy and shady” ?

Thats like saying every government & country the world over that isn’t the US gov’t isn’t capable or responsible to do anything & the only people to be trusted are those that are run by the US government – seriously get a grip.

I’m sorry but while alot of online poker players are American – shock horror the rest of the world exists … and the rest of the world has a RIGHT to play online poker if they want to. “US Law Enforcement” has no right to decide about how the rest of the world conducts it’s business and no right to try to enforce it’s laws on others (again the UIGEA does NOT make US online poker illegal).

It’s about time the US government realised that it does NOT rule the world and 60 minutes doesn’t have some moral right to dictate that because foreign businesses unsuprisingly dont base themselves in the US they are must be somehow shady and beyond the reach of international law. Again its the US government that is breaking international trade laws NOT online gaming sites.

They would have been far better off telling the dirty truth about UB Absolute scandal, pointing out the players have all been refunded and then drawing a line … taken a deep breath and discussed the reality of the rest of the online poker world, clarified the online poker isnt illegal and explain exactly how wrong headed the UIGEA is and asking why the US government is trying to get in laws by the backdoor that contraviene international law & do nothing to make online poker gambling any better regulated.

60 minutes wrongly declared online poker illegal in the US (it’s not) and little mention was made of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), how it does NOT make online poker illegal or mentioning just how this rediculous act ever came into being (via an equally scandalous slight of hand, tagging it on to the end of the Safe Ports Act).

The way the whole industry was wrongly portrayed as all running like some kind of offshore bunch of cowboy scammers was frankly inaccurate and a disgrace, but classic 60 minutes shock jock reporting.

In case they forgot the rest of the world and its businesses are entitled to trade globally under WTO agreements (ones the US have signed and should comply with). The US cannot legally stop other foreign based industries from trading in the US nor should they be able to introduce laws that seek to obstruct business from the rest of the world.

The reality is many online poker sites are run and regulated by rather more far sighted countries (like the United Kingdom) who do regulate and allow online gambling.

What has happened with the old UltimateBet and Absolute was unacceptable – but bottom line is it’s the biggest and only known or proven scandal of insider cheating / abuse of security to have hit online poker … Given that it is a multi billion dollar business that fact is all the more amazing. Given that online players have been ever vigilant since the Absolute cheating came to light with 100’s of internet geeks checking for exactly those inconsistencies …

Have any other online poker sites come under suspicion on the 2 years since the UB / Absolute cheating occurred ? NO

So come on 60 minutes – When are you going to point your camera accurately and fairly at the whole of the banking and financial business ?

While the US Gov’t and every other know-nothing busy body has been looking to screw over online gambling and poker – You should have all be keeping a closer eye on your own onshore “unregulated” US based financial and banking businesses … Who have managed to run amuck and crash the world economy.

More Resources about 60 minutes progamme on the UB / Absolute cheating

Nats Blog – October Post on Absolute Poker Cheating Scandal

Nats Blog – 60 Minutes considering Absolute Poker story

4kingpokerblog – Absolute Poker & UltimateBet become Cereus – Jul 2008

4kingpokerblog – Absolute Poker Audit – Jan 2008

4kingpokerblog – Mark Seif Absolute Poker Statement Nov 2007

4kingpokerblog – Absolute Poker Disaster Oct 2007

PokerWorks – AP and UB Scandals Featured on 60 Minutes Sunday

Washington Post – Inside Online Poker’s Cheating Scandals

Written by admin · Filed Under Scrawnybob's Ramble