Partypoker Knockouts More Bots as Part of Industry Power Grab

June 7th, 2019 | by Greg Shaun

Partypoker has taken down more bots as part of its push to create a fairer, safer and more welcoming online poker site.

Partypoker KOs more bots in its bid to become the safest online poker site around. (Image: Partypoker)

Announcing the details of its latest cull on June 5, Partypoker said that it closed 42 illegal accounts in May.

Of those identified by the security team, 33 were active on Partypoker.com with the other nine from the .EU network.

Players Benefit from Bot Battle

By catching 42 poker bots, Partypoker is now in the processes of returning $46,805 to affected players.

While the operator was pleased it had foiled more fraudulent activity, it did note the latest tally is 55.3% down on its previous record. That being said, the push to eliminate bots is still a new innovation.

After employing a team of ex-pros and security experts, Partypoker created the “Poker Fraud Team” at the close of 2018.

Getting to work immediately, the team deactivated 277 poker bots between December 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019. That initial cull resulted in hundreds of players receiving refunds totaling $734,852.

Far from being an opportunity to generate some positive PR, Partypoker has vowed to continue its war on illegal software.

Partypoker Pressuring PokerStars Again

Although poker bots have long been an issue for players and operators, many feel the problem is worse than it was. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), poker bots are more advanced than ever.

A prime example of this appeared in 2017. Developed by Carnegie Mellon University, poker bot Lengpudashi beat a team of pros with relative ease.

Although the average online grinder won’t have software as sophisticated as Lengpudashi, there has been a trickledown effect.

With poker bots benefitting from general improvements in AI, online operators are trying to eradicate them.

Partypoker is using its “bot-free” image in tandem with innovations such as Million Online to attract casuals and pros. Moreover, it’s aiming to usurp PokerStars’ current hold over the industry.