Two Plus Two Cuts Ties With America’s Cardroom

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Many of you have likely heard about the scandal surrounding Joey Ingram’s accusations that there are serious security issues at America’s Cardroom. The popular video blogger and player accused the site of allowing bots, collusion rings and even suggest that there may be superusers on the site.

After multiple videos on the matter and a general lack of response from ACR or the Winning Poker Network, the parent company of the popular poker forum Two Plus Two has taken action. The company has decided that they will no longer sell advertising to the Winning Poker Network until they have addressed security issues.

Two Plus Two Cuts Ties Despite 15 Year Relationship

In a publisher’s note in the March 2018 edition of TwoPlusTwo Magainze, Mason Malmuth addressed the security issues that have arisen in recent weeks on the site. He started talking about how that they a for-profit company and rely on advertising. However, they also admit that they care about the welfare of poker and its players and has blocked some companies from advertising with them although they were willing to pay their rates.

He then discusses the Winning Poker Network, home of America’s Cardroom. Malmuth reveals that they have been advertisers with Two Plus Two Interactive LLC for about 15 years and during that time there haven’t been any significant problems with the network.

However, due to posters on the site and accusations from Ingram and others, he believes that there are issues that need to be addressed. Speaking further, Malmuth stated that “on Saturday, February 24, we sent their CEO Phil Nagy an email letter where we addressed four issues: late tournament registration (which we now understand has been addressed), bots, possible super users, and other collusion. We also made some suggestions as to how some of these issues could be addressed.”

As of March 1, Malmuth has not heard back from Nagy and this forced them to take the step of discontinuing their relationship with the Winning Poker Network. Furthermore, they have also closed the sub-forum on TwoPlusTwo Forums.

Malmuth did leave the door open to resume their relationship, stating, “this can all change if we do get a positive response from Winning Poker Network and they still want to advertise with us.”

Nagy Speaks to US Poker – Says Criticism is Unfair

In an article released on Thursday by Joss Wood at US Poker, Nagy did respond in part to some of the allegations. According to Wood, US Poker and Nagy had a long Skype call during which he exhibited frustrations over many of the security allegations.

He stated that when Joe Ingram contacted him about the allegations, he was on vacation with his family in Peru and said he didn’t get an opportunity to reply prior to Ingram’s video.

Nagy addressed bots stating that following the money is much more important than hand histories. Also, he claimed that they have caught bots in the past and banned players for using bots. He also stands by ACRs policy of not outting players who are using bots, claiming that “everyone would hate the consequences – and mistakes would inevitably be made as some honest players could be banned in error.”

US Poker also reported that Nagy is claiming that the claims being made by Ingram and others have not hurt the company.

Nagy’s Stance Doesn’t Help Reputation of ACR or Other US Facing Sites

One of the biggest problems with unregulated online poker sites is that they historically have a bad reputation due to the actions of selected sites. When sites such as Lock Poker abscond with player funds or other sites such as Absolute Poker and UltimateBet have serious security issues, it makes players suspicious in general.

When a CEO intentionally sidesteps accusations of security issues rather than addressing them head on, it hurts the reputation of the site and the reputations of other sites. Instead of worrying about a family vacation, he should have taken a few hours or even a day to address the matter fully.

After the video, he should have aggressively challenged these claims and worked with Ingram and others to investigate what’s going on. If their claims are false, then he could retaliate and show that they are frauds. His continued sidestepping of the matters gives credence to the claims, regardless of whether they are true.

Sadly, the fact that these allegations have done little, if anything, to hurt the business is not surprising. There are so few options for US players to play online poker, they are willing to deal with suspect sites just for the opportunity to play.

This is just another reason why online poker regulation is necessary for the United States. Regulated sites would be required to respond to these allegations and if they did not, then players would be able to petition the regulatory body in charge of that sites and get them to investigate.

Whether the claim was true or false, it would be investigated and players would know whether there is a problem. Instead, we get continued drama with players wondering if ACR will become the next Lock Poker.