GGPoker's Integrity Ambassador, Fedor Holz, has claimed that cheats caught online at the site he represents will also be banned from live WSOP events.
GGPoker owns the WSOP brand after completing a $500M deal last October, and this could signal a joined-up approach that will have real-life consequences for online cheats.
On Friday night, GGPoker announced that 31 players had been banned for using RTA while playing. The use of RTA is a growing threat for online poker and has been in the headlines again recently after two ACR pros outed themselves by posting images of themselves playing online with a GTO Wizard window open in the background.
GGPoker's statement read: "In collaboration with GTOWizard, we have blocked 31 player accounts for violating our fair play rules. Together, we are continuously strengthening our security measures to protect the integrity of the game."
WSOP bans incoming for cheats?
Players, like Patrick Leonard, applauded GGPoker’s announcement but wanted the online site to go further, naming the players and/or banning them from the WSOP.
Leonard said, "Are they banned from WSOP too? That would be a big statement and put a lot of people off thinking about it."
That looks like it will happen after Holz replied to Leonard on X, saying, "That’s the plan and that’s what will happen." Leonard replied, saying, "Love it, bro. Great job with this."
It wouldn’t be the first time players have been banned from live tours after online transgressions. The PGT has previously indefinitely suspended Ali Imsirovic and Jake Schindler. A ban from the WSOP will hit even harder and build an even bigger deterrent from cheating on GGPoker.
Nothing has been confirmed by GGPoker or the WSOP yet but if it happens, it will be seen as a big move in the right direction, with many people fearing online poker was losing the battle against RTA.
GGPoker has a whole section in its online security policy on RTA that currently reads as follows:
"RTA is defined as any external assistance which provides users with an unfair advantage over their opponents, influences their decision-making in real-time, or allows them to play in a manner they otherwise would not be able to replicate.
"Every decision made at the poker table should be made free of any external assistance. External assistance includes, but is not limited to, software, apps, websites, and physical and digital reference materials. Referring to charts of any kind during play is strictly prohibited.
"Potential actions for breaches: PERMANENT BAN, CONFISCATION OF FUNDS."
