[Jacki]

Hi Forum Users:

Let me jump in here to let you know that cheating in our ACBL games is taken very seriously. We have checks and balances to help us find and deal with players who use unethical methods in our ACBL games on BBO.

One of the ways we monitor the pairs violating the ACBL (and BBO) ethics standards includes, but is not limited to, reports from our players on BBO. BBO Abuse does take these reports seriously and forwards them to our Support Department when Abuse determines that an in-depth investigation is needed. I hope you will understand that this takes time, as in any organization, escalating from one department to another is typically not instant. Well the escalation is instant but the resolution takes time.

If any of our players has reason to believe that a pair is using UI or other ethical violations, and the resolution seems to be taking an unusually long time, I invite you to email me personally and I'll make a point of having the situation investigated, or see that the investigation is indeed underway. You must bear in mind, though, that any results of the investigation cannot and will not be shared with the people reporting the incident or anyone else except those in an official capacity. Those in an official capacity include BBO Senior Staff and the ACBL.

However, Diana was 100% correct in stating that the directors of the tournament cannot make a determination of an ethics violation - in this case, a suspicion of 'cheating. They simply cannot, but must go through procedures as this is a very serious charge and could cause permanent damage to the parties if it turns out to be incorrect.

So to sum up: Reports of a violation of ACBL or BBO Ethical standards are investigated. If the investigation proves to be true actions are taken. These actions could be a warning (with an 'on watch' status), a temporary ban from BBO, a permanent ban from BBO, and/or a report to the ACBL of the action we have taken if the the subject is a member of the ACBL.

I hope this is sufficient to confirm that we do take these reports seriously, and that you will also understand that our Privacy Policy prevents us from sharing any results we find.

Jacki
jacki@bridgebase.com