Busted by Poker Players

In online gambling news that guaranteed to rock the global community, a massive scandal to the tune of $20 million was uncovered by computer programmer Todd Witteles, a pro-Poker player after a four-month extensive investigation.

If ever a hot potato was about to be dropped on a largely unaccountable industry, it's now with news of an astonishing multi-million dollar cheating conspiracy by poker players. As a result 60 Minutes and the Washington Post have teamed up to bring viewers the breaking news.

No laughing matter
When an $18 billion industry with few, if any, regulations and controls has players defrauding the online gambling industry, something needs to be done. The reins were taken up by Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes and Pulitzer-Prize winner Gilbert Gaul.

The issue at stake: a seemingly ordinary online poker player who played with gay abandon, recklessly at times and yet continued to win at an unprecedented rate. When Todd Witteles kept on losing to the guy, he smelled a rat. That's when he started digging beneath the surface.

Another poker player figured that the odds of winning the way the cheaters were was virtually impossible - yet they were pulling it off time and again. Both Absolute Bet and Ultimate Poker suffered huge losses in excess of $20 million.

Scandal abounds
This latest scandal comes on the back of several others - like cheaters who manipulate software to view other players' hole cards in poker. That particular scandal resulted in a $75 million claim against a Canadian company recently. That was on Ultimate Bet's online portal. That particular claim was filed by Blast-Off Ltd. of Malta, a company that has an ownership interest in Ultimate Bet.

Regulation and legality
The online sites are located in untouchable territory on an Indian reservation of a Mohawk tribe - just outside of Montreal. The authorities are as yet unable to regulate the industry - which operates in cyberspace and is not subject to any specific jurisdiction.