31st July 2020
BBO and Funbridge wish to emphasise their policy regarding zero tolerance of bad behaviour and cheating by participants playing bridge online at their sites.
Both organisations strive daily to prevent and detect cheating. Considerable human and IT resources have been deployed to this end.
Both organisations are also working with the World Bridge Federation and all National Bridge Organisations to stamp out any form of cheating, any behaviour contrary to normal, accepted standards or anything that may affect the running of the game.
Conditions and Regulations are published on both sites and all participants are encouraged to read them and commit to abiding by them.
Breaches of acceptable behaviour or cheating will be dealt with by the online provider initially and, particularly in the case of cheating, referred to any competent authorities for further action as deemed appropriate.
“We like this game too much to let a few alter its nature by cheating. We are intransigent on the issue.”
Olivier Comte – 52 Entertainment (BBO and Funbridge) president.
Comments
64 responses to “Press Release – Cheating: zero tolerance”
Thank you for your efforts. I support your wholeheartedly !
Mary Ellen Dowdy
Bravo je suis assidue bbo
Beaucoup d encouragements pour réussir dans ce mauvais compartiment du bridge
profile and real photos no anonymous real country etc
about time have an honest game
Non posso che essere felice di questa presa di posizione da parte degli organizzatori. Mi capita spesso di assistere a pause troppo lunghe e non necessarie da parte degli iPod e poi andando a vedere i loro profili scopro che sono della stessa città e quindi penso a telefonate fra di loro prima di rispondere. Questo non capita nei tornei individuali e io ormai faccio solo quelli
Non posso che essere felice di questa presa di posizione da parte degli organizzatori. Mi capita spesso di assistere a pause troppo lunghe e non necessarie da parte degli iPod e poi andando a vedere i loro profili scopro che sono della stessa città e quindi penso a telefonate fra di loro prima di rispondere. Questo non capita nei tornei individuali e io ormai faccio solo quelli
I have encountered some bad language just ignored it but not necessary
(Free Express Tournaments) I have noticed some players, when expecting a bad result, take close to 30 seconds on each play. This results in the deal being incomplete, and the deal being declared All Pass – 50%. I had complained about this. I think you need to implement Total Time per player per deal, say 1.5 or 2 minutes in addition to the current 30 seconds per decision.
Yes,I have seen the same and on BBO with Partners I think they are texting or photos of their hands I think lot of cheating!
Totally agree.
Totally!
Some hosts will change hands if they don’t like their present hand.
Opposite partners talk to each other in foreign language. IT is hard to know what they are saying. I think people should speak in universal ENGLISH language if at all.
Otherwise who knows if they are cheating or not.
Secondly, when people find they are losing they just leave. Wasting the game and efforts put by us.They should be banned or reprimanded., There should be mechanism to report such behavior besides using foul and obnoxious language/
Just my observations
We support fully your decision. Our sport has been built on values such respect, fair, friendship…Zero tolerance will be great!
Unfortunately there are people who cheat. It is very difficult to prove. I hope that IT people can find a way to detect them.
Slow play is the other problem, especially when people realize that they are going down. They slow down hoping for an average 50%.
Stop the cheating
Why cheat ? It’s not whether you win or lose its how you play the game .
qui appelé quand grossièrement insulté?
I think people who consistently score very high in the daily robot tournaments may be playing the hands twice under different usernames.
Usage of rude / foul language occurs frequently at BBO and some tournament directors just ignore the complaints even when clear evidence is present in chat. All tournament directors should instructed to act on pffenders. Fortunately at FB such incidences rarely hspen since human interaction is minimum.
Way, Way too much foul language. Too many insults. Too many people jumping in only long enough to bid 7NT, or some other ridiculous action to ruin a board
That not only ruins the board, it distorts the scoring.
Excelente trabajo, juego lento, abusos del José, MaL trato yo los denuncio y deben ser suspendidos los que no den explicaciones. Gracias José Guzmán
As a fairly poor player (beginner) I get a fair amount of mild abuse and/or boot for bad plays or bidding in casual games. Would be good if more skillful tables would say instantly to novices/beginners ‘sorry – don’t play with beginners/novices’ or, if prepared to do so, roll with a certain amount of dumb (but well meaning) play/bidding without getting uptight about it.
Agree!
Thank you for trying to deal with this horrid problem. I have a suggestion… it is obvious when pairs are communicating and holding up the game… we always say opp please bid and then we lose the board. If the opponent has been warned of slow play then they should get a A- and the other team A+. This will discourage teams from talking to each other if they are penalized instead of rewarded.
Thx
How can you stop it???
What about all those players who do not have a profile??
What about those sort of profile less players who cannot answer with a simple explanation when asked ??
What about those who do not abide by simple normal conventions??
Do I need to go on ??
It’s endless!!!
Make players give a profile
Enjoy BBO, if players want to cheat,it’s pathetic, but it is worldwide anyway, those sort will always cheat, there is no answer to it.
Thank you for. BBO. What would we do without you???
My partner and I have experienced playing with people who go so slowly we end up taking an average when if we could have played it would have been a good board. On several occasions I have called the director to explain what my line of play would have been. And received a correction. That takes a lot of time. I make a note of stalking players and start right away to tell them to pick up the pace
I agree with all you say. But please say that all players must have a profile
I agree that very slow play may mean partners talking or texting so it needs a sanction for too slow play.
Also agree why do some players have no profile. I think there is also some cheating re interrupting bidding with repeated questions for standard buds. I like the report abuse now present on profiles
Bridge and golf are my two main hobbies ..absolutely zero point in playing either unless with 100% integrity .. I suggest full name , country and standard are compulsory.. many thanks to BBO our lifeline in difficult times .. Christopher Clarke (UK)
If players would be obliged to fill out a convention card, not a profile, the games would go better and the players would get better
Is there some way to intervene for slow players. If gets suspicious after awhile. How much time is enough.
When players are playing in same house , spouses and friends and looking at each other’s hand how can you possibly control that . Almost impossible. This has to end . You should have outside tournament temporary tents . I don’t know what to be done . You do need some revenue from somewhere . God bless us all
If you are going to play any game, sport, etc there is absolutely no point in participating if your intention is to win by cheating.
Le respect pour tous et la triche inacceptable. Cela reste un jeu merveilleux et prenant . Merci et bravo de faire respecter cela 👏🏼🙏😀
thank you for your reply i play with BBO for years and i enjoy it very much
Thats why i wrote you this mail when me and my partner were rejected a side by a notice who said not logged in not available
and I could nt understand why
Hope we can continue playind together without being rejected when I invite my partner and write his name , imediatly i receive this note
not logged not available
same for him when he invites me
Sincerly Daisy
I agree. Thanks, this is something that should have been done. More players were starting cheating.
What happened to “playing in tempo?” At my bridge clubs, pre-pandemic, the owner-director says 10 seconds, max. You take longer you give information to your partner, and the director should revisit the hand to ascertain any damages and associated adjustments to the score.
If you cheat while playing golf by yourself who are fooling but yourself. If you play tennis and call balls out when you know they are in who are fooling but yourself. If you have to cheat to win at bridge who are you fooling but yourself. Have pity on such fools.
cheating at ANYTHING is nothing more than mental gratification … I put it up there as one of the most henious deviances of human
behaviour … no tolerance for a cheater
Attention, lors de compétition officielle ou de tournois payants, il faut tout faire pour empêcher les tricheries, on est d’accord. Mais BBO est un site où la plupart des joueurs viennent pour s’amuser, il ne faudrait pas chercher la “petite bête” à chaque table; d’une part les gens qui trichent ne doivent pas être très fiers à la fin du tournoi et d’autre part qu’est ce que ça peut me faire si je suis derrière un tricheur quand j’ai fait de mon mieux. Combien de fois il m’est arrivé de disputer un tournoi sur mon ordinateur alors que mon épouse dispute le même tournoi sur le sien ……. il serait très facile de tricher mais à quoi cela rime de gagner en trichant ? S’il y avait de l’argent en jeu le problème serait plus aigu mais heureusement il n’y a pratiquement rien à gagner sur BBO …… sauf le plaisir de jouer et de parler à d’autres joueurs au bout du monde.
I started this great game of bridge at age 78, have been playing six years and truly enjoy every game I play. I occasionally receive rude remarks or get booted from the table when I make a bad bid or bad play. A constructive comment improves my game and is appreciated. Remember even you experts are still learning. It would be nice to have the ability to play casual games with players on the same level. Also, playing on a laptop sliding my finger across the pad sometimes produces a wrong card being played. It amazes me how often an obvious misplay will result in an undo being rejected.
Thanks for the input request..
cheating is an illness;rudeness is bad manners
In your “account” you can set “confirm bids” and “confirm cards” so that you don’t make inadvertent mistakes.
It only adds an extra click and doesn’t take any extra time ….. it actually saves time when you consider how long it takes to get an “undo” agreed by your opposition.
I would prefer this to be automatically turned on by BBO and the “undo” button removed.
I totally agree that bridge should be played with the spirit of the game.Bad behavior and cheating is not acceptable in bridge.BBO is giving emmence service to the bridge lovers and we all have to appreciate and follow the protocal
Bravo BBO and FUNBRIDGE and thanks for giving me the chance to play bridge online !
Well done! Unfortunately you¨ll never succeed in beating the cheaters. I discovered that they play while being connected by telephone. How did I discover it? Easy: Certains biddings could be possible to a magicien only or to somebody who KNOWS ALL THE CARDS and THEIR DISTRIBUTION.
To avoid rudeness, I dare suggest to inform all the players the ALL the chats ARE REGISTERED and checked by computers and that all the responsables of rudeness will be automatically seleced out of BBO forever. You will have less chats and less insults.
Cheating, for masterpoints, silliness. Masterpoints are just bragging rights. And what have you got to brag about if you got them by cheating.
Z chamstwem i brakiem kultury można i trzeba walczyć ,zacząć należy od gwiazd którym gospodarze turniejów bardzo wiele pozwalają tak samo z oszustami z tym że walka z oszustami to w obecnym czasie walka z wiatrakami ,ale próbować należy i trzeba
It’s too easy to cheat. Just stay connected by phone.
Where’s the fun in it not to mention the sportsmanship.
Slightly different problem: people who have lengthy chats with their partner during play, in English “Textspeech”. Not easy for a foreigner, easy fluent in English, to understand while concentrating on the game! Please be considerate!
Overall, playing bridge is a smart people’s game . It is a continuous thought provoking game or processing. It keeps you on your toe . Your eyes are so alerting; so willing to interact on the steps you are taking to get to the contract. To me , Bridge is most amazing game on this planet . One can never get bored . There is so much to learn and upgrades to enhance the level of your game . Every time you play you learn something but sometimes not . (You kind of know everything. ) Time to explore new conventions or strategies Or may be new partner. Everyone must experience what bridge playing is . It is beautiful, social and smart . Thanks to Bridge game inventors .
Bloak2
I don’t have confidence that you can stop the cheaters. No more regional tournaments for gold points. That only fosters more cheating.
I am 85 yrs old and play the game with the intention of playing faultlessly.I participate only in FREE games and hence do not bother if some unethical players are winning as I have nothing to lose.I feel if most participants have this attitude of just enjoying the game there won’t be any grudge against the unethical players.All other commentators have covered this subject excellently by making invaluable suggestions,
The most critical thing to do right now is add a “report slow play” option. If two people are colluding, their play will be slow and not in tempo. If every opponent can click on this after every affected hand, it will alert the director to possible unusual auctions and results. Or, at the very least, a warning to play more quickly. As would be the case in any club. Also, we have all been affected by players who intentionally slow play to get an average on what would have been a bad board. Opponents need to be encouraged by Directors to ask for an adjusted result. Again, it would be so much easier if there was a “button” you could click on for just that. If these two issues could be addressed a lot of bread-and-butter cheating would be eliminated. BBO has mechanisms in place with computer and human analysis of results which will capture more sophisticated collusion. Bridge on line is here to stay. It is great! BBO is the premiere site, especially in partnership with the ACBL and other international bridge federations. Let’s just fix this, BBO. It can be done. Thank you!
I remember my late husband telling me when I started playing bridge,he said bridge was a cheating game. Years ago when he played socially some partners had so many signals they would forget which one. Bridge is a great game and I want to played on my own merit,right or wrong.
Ce jeu est trop beau pour laisser quelques malades ne pas respecter les règles!
bonne continuation et beaucoup de plaisir!
i never use chat i play at table generally,only i play on hungaryan tourney
Cheating is pointless- we all agree.(I do not play in competitions but have found patterns of play which are clearly impossible based on any other rationale.) One just has to feel sorry for people who do it. Think how sad their lives must be. Luckily there are lots of great/ fun players to switch to!
You’d help the problem immeasurably by1: scoring correctly, you often confuse vulnerability
2. Initiating a phone system that gets a response in real-time
3. Keeping track of Host, too often the ability to remove a player is not an option because HOST IS NO LONGER IN GAME.
4. Encourage players to assesss themselves honestly, too many experts are synonymous with beginners
5. Create more novice and beginner games and set two hour daily aside for plAy in regular game.
6. Reduce waiting time between bids thereby speeding up overall play and reduce the insults from frustrated participants
7. Any reports Of clearly inappropriate language should be supported by a screenshot. After estAblishing accuracy of incident, user should be given one warning and then GONE FOREVER
Bravo, encore samedi dernier, mon partenaire m’a traité de morron…. un très mauvais joueur qui en plus avec 6 piques et 14 points n’a pas réenchéri sur ma réponse à 2 trèfles (12 points)…. il a passé j’ai jouée ce 2 trèfles avec un appui de sa part de 2 cartes en trèfles… j’ai quitté sans jouer sur ses propos de débutante morron…
Continuez à exiger la politesse. Merci
Sono pienamente d’accordo .come mai non mi fanno entrare col nuovo bbo (dicono che non ho smazzate sufficienti ,ma io gioco in bbo forse va più di 10 anni sono da anni prima categoria massima ho accumulato circa 90.mila punti . Nei tornei free perché non avendo card . Mai avute card data la mia eta classe 1935. Non mi adeguo ai tempi scusa bel mio sfogo
Ma in bbo non riesco a fare un torneo se qualche amico non paga lui è quelli free non mi fanno entrare (perché x loro io non ho smazzate suficienti distinti saluti😊
Dimenticato(CNL068)federbridge italia contrasti danilo milano (sono quello sopra)scusate
Hesitating over a singleton is also cheating – there is an option to automate their play, but it should NOT be optional – singletons from all hands except dummy should be played by the software in tempo. There is no advantage to allowing players to pause over a singleton.
Players should also be warned about hesitating in other situations for purposes of deception – as in the case of holding xxx in a suit, but hesitating to deceive declarer into thinking the holding has an honor to be finessed.
This stuff will get you in trouble at any club – but many on bbo have not played the game in a more formal setting and seem unaware.