UK Officials Looking into Third-Party Poker Software

There has been a lot of news lately about online poker rooms combatting the effectiveness of third party software, particularly when it comes to HUDs, datamining, and seat scripts.
 
About a month ago, Microgaming announced it was going to allow its players to change their screen names every 30 days or every 1,000 real money hands to combat the effectiveness of seating scripts and datamining.
 
This was followed by PartyPoker declaring an all-out war against poker tracking software and HUDs with an announcement earlier this month that hand histories will soon no longer be allowed to be downloaded, along with a ban on most third-party software including HUDs and seating scripts. PokerStars and Full Tilt got into the action as well by prohibiting advanced third-party software.
 
However, poker sites aren't the only ones looking into it, as earlier this week the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced plans to review the usage of third-party software as well.  The UKGC governs regulating gaming in the United Kingdom and any potential action it takes could put UK players at a disadvantage.
 
The UKGC is in process of asking licensed poker operators about the "collusion and cheating" dangers players might be able to take advantage of by using third-party poker software. The UKGC elaborated on this on its website stating, "We've been asking licensees who offer peer-to-peer poker for information and their views on current issues identified in relation to this product."
 
It is further claimed by the UKGC that it is conducting this review out of fairness so that vulnerable people are protected. "We want this information in order to assess whether the current controls in License Conditions and Codes of Practice and the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards are sufficient to ensure online poker is crime-free, fair and open, and children and vulnerable people are protected," stated the UKGC.
 
The first stage of the review will also include investigating integrity issues, with the UKGC commenting, "We are also considering the impact of game integrity issues overall and using the opportunity to canvass views more generally."

Poker software has been around for almost as long as online poker.  It is interesting that after many major poker sites have clamped down on its usage a regulatory body is also potentially getting into the mix.  While it is unknown how the UKGC will eventually react, it is possible that if it takes an unfavorable stance towards third-party poker software, it could have a ripple effect.
 
Once one major regulatory body takes action, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that others would follow suit.  Also, poker rooms may decide that if players in the UK aren't able to use certain third-party poker software, they will restrict it to the rest of its player base as well to keep the playing field as even as possible.

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