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Originally Posted by HammerMan72
I knew you were aiming at this. I guess it would be the job of the operator to combat that
Agreed, as it is on all sites. And of course bitcoin sites aren't unique in that the players have to rely on the site to catch cheaters with no way to verify that they are - that's also the case at anonymous sites like Bodog.
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Originally Posted by HammerMan72
and I don't think that verifying accounts with traditional KYC and AML procedures really reduces the risk or eliminate it. On most sites you don't need to fully verify an account unless you start cashing out. Thus, if the sites have P2P transfer it's easy to fund such an account or you just dump chips to it. I think there is other ways to combat collusion and/or multi-accounting than relying on account verification.
Well, I'd agree that thee would be no difference in the site's ability to catch botters and many other cheaters. For colluders and multi-accounters, they lose a helpful tool in being able to find some links between accounts, but a smart cheater should be able to avoid said links even on a site with more knowledge about account holders - especially, as you say, considering a lot of verification doesn't happen until after the fact. Still, it makes things a lot easier when you don't have to worry about deposit methods linking accounts together.
But the big issue is consequences. All a cheater has to worry about on a truly anonymous site is losing the funds he has in his account at any given time. And when he can cash out his money very quickly and easily, and create new accounts very simply, there is very little downside to cheating. That's the big problem I see with allowing complete anonymity.
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Originally Posted by HammerMan72
There is also no complete anonymity with bitcoins unless you know what you're doing and people who still keep their bitcoins with 3rd party providers such Coinbase or an online wallet are not taking full advantage of the actual financial freedom bitcoin has to offer.
The problem is, it's the professional cheaters that will learn how to be completely anonymous, if it's possible.
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Originally Posted by HammerMan72
Personally I believe that BTC poker has so far failed to gain serious traction simply for the reason that people don't understand this "digital currency thing" and therefore have this so called "first touch fear".
Agreed.
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Originally Posted by HammerMan72
So yeah, there is a lot of pro and cons with bitcoin but for me personally the pros outweigh the cons and I've been involved in BTC now for a good 4 years and BTC has basically become my primary currency.
Yes, there are. I get some of the appeal, but am so far not convinced that it's the amazing alternative that some claim it to be. That said, I'm glad to see sites offering the option.