888poker recovers more funds from bot accounts

888poker says its made progress in tackling bot accounts through investing in “fair poker gaming technology”.

UK.- 888 Holdings’ poker brand 888poker says it’s expecting to refund nearly $300,000 to players this year after recovering funds lost to “bot” accounts that use artificial intelligence to gain an unfair advantage over real players.

The issue of bots is a problem for all igaming operations, but 888poker says it has made progress in attacking the problem by investing in “fair poker gaming technology” to detect bots and ensure a “level playing field”.

888poker developed its monitoring software last year and expanded its fair gaming team, taking on several data scientists, real-time advisors (RTA) and professional poker players to help detect bots. It says that so far this year, it has refunded $80,858 to 1,390 players.

Matan Krakow, poker offering group manager, said: “Our continued progress in tackling bots is crucial in ensuring that 888poker continues to provide an enjoyable, safe and level playing field for all of our players.

“This has been driven not only by our increased investment in our detection capabilities but also through the continued support and cooperation of our players, who have an important role to play in helping provide us with vital information about players they think are using AI and RTA.

“We will continue to do all in our power to ensure we keep poker fun and fair, as part of our Made to Play strategy, and listening to our players will be a key factor to progress on this front.”

888 takes safer gambling Control Centre to Italy

888 has announced the expansion of its safer gambling initiative to Italy. It’s rolled out its Control Centre in the market as part of its ESG policy, dubbed “Made to Play Safely” as part of its “Made for the Future” initiative. 

The Control Centre was launched in the UK market in 2020. It offers real-time gambling activity monitoring deposit limits, self-exclusion limits and “take a break” restrictions. The company said it aims to normalise the use of safer gambling tools among players.

888’s VP for customer safety and due diligence, Andrew Anthony, said: “I am delighted to see The Control Centre rolled out in another of our core markets. At 888 we recognise the need to use our proprietary technology to protect customers and promote safer play.

“By giving customers transparent information about their gambling activity in real-time, we continue to ensure that safer gambling remains at the heart of the 888 customer experience.”

888 says the Control Centre led to a 23 per cent increase in the use of safer gambling tools in 2021, and that players who used the centre were more likely to adjust personal deposit limits and to “take a break” from gaming.

Anthony added: “We are focused on ensuring that our customers are empowered to make safe and responsible decisions about their gambling, and we remain committed to continually investing in our teams and technology to create industry-leading, user-friendly tools that help achieve this.

“We look forward to introducing The Control Centre across more markets over the coming years.”

Last month, the shareholders of 888 Holdings approved the company’s deal to acquire the non-US assets of William Hill from the US casino giant Caesars Entertainment. Caesars bought William Hill last year for £2.9bn but made clear from the outset that it would offload the European part of the business.