WPN Under Fire Again for Bots and Unpaid Rakeback
Prepare for a shock ladies and gentlemen. An online poker site that is unregulated is having problems with bots and paying rakeback. According to an article on PokerNews.com, it appears that the Winning Poker Network is being blasted for multiple issues.
The first is bots. WPN has long had issues with bots and it appears that the problem has become exponentially worse. Also, according to some, the website is shorting players on rakeback payments. Apparently this has been going on for a few months now.
Bot Problems Continue at WPN
Some of you may remember that Joey Ingram blasted the Winning Poker Network back in 2018 over bots. He even recommended that players avoid the network altogether. The site appeared to largely ignore these complaints until earlier this year when they instituted what they called the first transparent process of blocking bot accounts.
While some tried to hype this new initiative, the results were far from impressive. Since the program was launched, just 46 accounts have been blocked. The last time that any accounts were blocked was back in May.
New accusations have arisen on TwoPlusTwo forums. A post by HandOfGod666 started a slew of bot reveals with users revealing bots operating in poker tournaments, NL Hold’em cash games, and even PLO.
This story has largely remained unreported other than PokerNews with some news sites still lamenting that America’s Cardroom (the flagship of WPN) is a great place to play.
If these accusations prove true, and there is simply too much smoke to think that there’s no fire whatsoever, this is just another black eye for an online poker site that has had a somewhat shady history.
Players Being Shorted on Rakeback
WPN is experiencing additional problems when it comes to paying rakeback to players. For those that don’t know about rakeback, some players get back a portion of their rake back into their accounts. Often, this rakeback comes from the rake collected through affiliates.
Starting back on May 20th, players have been having problems with rakeback payments. A software update caused a glitch in the system and five months later, there are still problems. The company acknowledged the problem initially and promised to fix it by July. That date was later revised to “TBD” and the problem is ongoing.
Posts on TwoPlusTwo claim that over 50% of rakeback due to players has not been received. Multiple players have confirmed that they have been shorted on rakeback. How much money is missing out of accounts? We don’t know but PokerNews put the fact that players aren’t getting all of the money they are being promised is a major red flag.
Nothing Players Can Do But Complain, Wait, or Quit Playing at WPN
The big problem with playing at unregulated poker rooms is that your options are extremely limited when there’s a problem. Players can naturally blow the whistle and cause a firestorm, but there’s little legal recourse they can take. A lawsuit against the owners can be filed, but owners can simply skip the country or not step foot in the US.
Players can wait and hope that complaints will change the situation, but as the past has proven, the results of that are largely uninspiring. The best thing that players can do in situations such as this is to discontinue playing on the website and find a legal poker site.
While the Winning Poker Network accepts US players, the risk of playing at the site is great. In addition, the network has faced controversy for years now and continues to be problematic. Accusations of rampant bot activity, mishandling of rakeback payments, and their past problems make this a site that should be avoided.