19 Jan 2026 Beginner This material is for beginner players Martin Zamani reposted a video last week on X alleging that there is a "massive bot farm" running on Ignition and Bovada. The video caused an uproar on social media, as the two sites are the most popular poker sites for U.S. players. The video has since garnered over half a million views and been widely shared on X. Many people in the poker community were outraged and had many unanswered questions, especially about the integrity and security of online poker games. Zamani is one of the most outspoken personalities in the poker community. According to Zamani, these accounts with bots have been active on the platforms for a very long time, especially in high-stakes games. He noted that, despite Ignition and Bovada being aware of such accounts, the platforms have not taken adequate measures to stop them. Massive bot farm on Ignition/Bovada. They’ve know about for ages and done nothing. It’s highstakes and this isn’t the entire operation either and they just don’t care. Enough is enough of this shit. (I didn’t create the bot or the video)I don’t think this is happening on… pic.twitter.com/VeEKzLhVGv— Martin Zamani (@martin_zamani) January 17, 2026 A Growing Outcry in the Online Poker Community As expected, such accusations have sparked a fierce reaction on social media platforms and poker forums. Players have long complained about bot activity on the Ignition and Bovada sites. Furthermore, players had noticed unusual patterns that portrayed the presence of bots. Accounts would often enter tournaments via late registration, run the time banks, and exhibit non-human patterns and actions. A Reddit thread that has been widely circulated describes how these bots would fill up late registration seats and use time banks in a coordinated manner. This is not the first time the poker scene has reported news about bots. Threads on community forums have talked about bot activity for years. Many online poker players stated that the ecosystem feels more "infested", especially in cash games and MTTs (multi-table tournaments). Players and the poker community in general criticized Ignition and Bovada’s anonymous tables feature. While this feature prevents recreational players from 'bum hunting', it also facilitates bot operations and allows collusion to happen undetected. It is almost impossible to track players and learn their identities and patterns of play because of the anonymous feature. Operator Response and Action Despite the uproar caused by Zamani's tweet, Bovadad and Ignition have not responded or taken any necessary measures to solve the problem. Players on social media have questioned why the platforms seem to have known about these bots "for ages", as Zamani put it, but haven't done anything about it. In the past, both sites responded to these claims by publishing clear terms that explicitly prohibit collusion and unfair play. For instance, Bovada's rules state that collusion or actions intended to give someone an unfair advantage, such as sharing information or dumping chips, could result in permanent bans and the loss of winnings. They also indicated automated detection systems can be used but don't explain how. Many players feel that the platforms aren't concerned about enforcing these rules. People are frustrated because they think account restrictions or bans usually affect whistleblowers rather than suspected bots. For instance, in 2024, a well-known case involved a player who thought he had found bots, analyzed their weaknesses, and found ways to exploit them. Ignition responded by suspending him from the platform, even though the player claimed the bots remained active. This kind of response enrages poker players and makes them believe the platforms are either unwilling to eradicate bots or are overwhelmed by the scale of the problem. What does this news mean for poker players? This is worrying news as a poker player. Whenever I sit at the tables, I always wonder if I am playing against other humans or bots. As long as sites don't act honestly or are unwilling to tackle the bot issues, the poker economy will take a hit, and more players will lose trust in the games. Poker Community Reaction Below are a few reactions from the poker community about the bot farms on Ignition and Bovada poker sites. @Joeingram1: Any idea why they have known about it for ages and done nothing?— LEGION | Joey Ingram 🐉 (@Joeingram1) January 17, 2026 @brianchastings: I showed hard evidence of collusion in a $1k tourney a while back and they chatted with me for a few days and ultimately did nothing. Where is this video sourced from btw?— Brian Hastings (@brianchastings) January 18, 2026 @wugwugwugwug: ignition used to be awesome the high stakes mtt's were great now they are colluded to the point they are unplayable and they've done nothing about itthey've effectively killed their own site by either being negligent or complicitfuck them— Ruben (@wugwugwugwug) January 18, 2026 @thakilla: Why have I not seen anyone offer a source for this video? Why haven't I seen anyone question if this video was made using AI? I know we all want to believe bots were the reason we lost at poker, but it seems pretty insane to just believe any video this absurd is legit in 2026.— Pat Cruse (@thakilla) January 18, 2026 @mcgoatey: @junglemandan I tried to expose this in the US regulated market like we talked about. I came to a lot of people with proof of this month's ago. @BetRiversPoker has known for almost a year this was happening on their site and the clear evidence provided they brushed off as a…— David Mendez (@mcgoatey) January 18, 2026
