Readers on the popular poker forum 2+2 were speculating this week on the reason for sudden cash awards to dozens of player accounts by Bovada Poker.
The awards were sent under a reference MA-Transfer In-CG, triggering a storm of speculation on why players are being compensated, with the pet theory being that a collusion ring was busted, and prejudiced players are being recompensed.
Generic explanations reportedly sent by Bovada Security to some players did little to clarify the mystery, advising:
“We have concluded that players in a ring game that you were involved in have breached our terms of service. As such, their winnings have been removed, and you have been credited the appropriate amount. Please check your account balance for reference.
“We are committed to providing a fun and safe place for players all over the world to enjoy poker. With that being said, we are constantly monitoring our tables as well as following up on leads from players to ensure that collusion is found and dealt with appropriately.”
Whilst a collusion ring breakup was the most popular theory for the pay-outs, there could have been other “breaches” of the T&Cs, including a multi-account bust, underage or problem gambling, using third party programs, taking advantage of a system fault, abusing a bonus program or using a bot.
Players reported that the refunds appeared to be across a range of different game, table and stake types.
Bovada has yet to comment.