Update: Ignition Casino reached out to PokerOrg with a short statement: "We are currently looking into this further with the appropriate part of our team on how we can have this investigated further."
Ignition Poker has come under fire in a thread on X, with videos detailing alleged collusion in a $1,055 tournament last night.
Old-school legend and current Run It Once coach and pro Brian Hastings posted the video footage saying, "Happening again in Ignition $1055. Players 110-118 [are] all seated at [the] same table, playing fake hands like this. Clearly communicating holecard info so nobody busts."
Hastings posted another three videos of suspicious activity that you can see on this thread.
The final one was two from the money and Hastings posted: "Worst hand bets out two possibly good hands on the river to ensure forced all-in player survives. Doesn’t get more blatant than this." You can see this video below.
Players react to suspicious play
Many players reacted to the Hastings thread, including the CEO of Octopi Poker, Victoria Livschitz, who said, "Damn. This thread is insane."
WPT ambassador Tony Dunst said he wouldn't feel safe playing on Ignition having seen the hands play out.
However, Hastings said that he was just going to stop playing "small field high buyin stuff" and that he hadn't been aware this level of collusion was going on. He added, "Still doing well on the site overall, tho."
Three-time WSOPC ring winner Brock Wilson said that collusion at the $1K level could be proof of more widespread cheating activity.
He said, "The fact that the most obvious cheating ever is being done at the highest stake MTT level on this site shows the amount they must have gotten away with – to just be like, ya f**k it, let’s do it to the absolute max, we’ll be fine."
Here is a selection of reactions from other players to the thread from Hastings.
Why do players play on Ignition?
Ignition is unregulated in the States but it is one of the few real-money poker options for US players.
That's not to say that issues such as collusion, bots, and other forms of cheating don't happen on regulated sites, but there is an extra level of implied protection.
However, US players don't have many options if they don't live in one of the four States that currently offer regulated poker – Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
WSOP, BetMGM, and PokerStars offer regulated real-money poker across multiple states with shared liquidity. BetRivers has launched in Pennsylvania and DraftKings has a three-handed Electric Poker offering in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
One major development for 2025 is the imminent launch of ClubWPT Gold. This is a new site from the WPT brand that will operate under a real-money sweepstakes model in 46 States (excluding Idaho, Michigan, Montana and Washington). Sweepstakes poker might have its own legal issues mounting, but ClubWPT Gold comes with a real pedigree from one of the most trusted brands in the poker space.
PokerOrg has reached out to Ignition Casino for comment.
