The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) wasted little time in appointing an industry expert to head its investigation into the Ultimate Bet scandal. The man who will lead an independent monitoring team is former New Jersey State Gaming Regulator Frank Catania, who now runs a consulting company. According to a statement released by the KGC, the independent team “will be given the task of completing a full forensic audit/investigation of the online gaming business of both licensed entities.”
The KGC has come under fire in recent months. It is the regulatory and oversight body for both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, along with a laundry list of other online poker rooms. By appointing the monitoring team, the KGC hopes to “ensure that the games offered to the public are fair and honest and that all player protections as required by the Kahnawake Gaming Regulations are being complied with.” Having this seal of approval will be an instrumental part of Ultimate Bet once again becoming one of the top online poker rooms. UB recently merged with Absolute Poker to form the CEREUS network.
Perhaps the most important objective of Catania’s team is to verify that Tokwire, which is the parent company of Ultimate Bet, has eradicated the breach in its software entirely. In essence, the auditing tool which was exploited in the UB scandal that allowed its users to view the hole cards of other players at the table must be completely void from UB’s system. The statement by the KGC sums up the all-inclusive powers of the independent examiners: “Mr. Catania’s team will be empowered by the KGC to have full access to interview all employees, past or present, review all records, contact and interview all sub-contractors and individuals whom the monitoring team believes necessary.” If criminal actions are found, the monitoring team can alert local authorities.
The appointment of Catania came around the same time that Ultimate Bet delivered its final report to the KGC outlining its findings, which occurred last week. UB’s management has yet to name anyone specifically in the investigation as the main perpetrators, although former owner Russ Hamilton has been labeled as a possible target. Catania has extensive experience in the gaming world and specifically online. He currently serves as a director of eCOGRA, a regulatory agency. He assisted in drafting the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s regulations as well as the guidelines followed by the nation of Antigua.
Catania told Poker News Daily that he would describe himself as an “agent of the KGC doing a full scale investigation and then make my recommendations to the KGC.” He has extensive experience working with the KGC as an independent consultant ever since the oversight organization was formed. He commented on the length of the investigation: “We will be using a large forensic accounting firm along with some of our employees who are former employees of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the New Jersey State Police. It will take as long as it takes to do a full investigation with no stone unturned.”
That’s the latest from the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal. We’ll have the latest news from the KGC’s investigation as it unfolds right here on PokerNewsDaily.com.