Tech company Iovation is on the cusp of being granted a Nevada Gaming license to offer geolocation services to regulated online gambling sites in the state despite having ties to one of the largest scandals in online poker history.
It’s May 2013, and Ultimate Poker decide to severe all ties with tech company Iovation after players react angrily to the reminder that they were the company that created the software for Ultimate Bet (UB), and the infamous ‘God Mode,’ that allowed Russ Hamilton and several key executives to steal $20m+ from unsuspected players.
Two years later, and the name of Iovation has risen to the surface of the Nevada online gambling scene once again, after freelancer Steve Brogan picked up that the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) had conditionally recommended them for a Nevada gaming license. Iovation co-founder Greg Pierson is one of those former UB executives thought to have benefited from the ‘God Move’ functionality.
The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) plan to make a decision during a hearing scheduled for Feb 18 at 10 am. If approved, they will be able to provide geolocation software to anyone looking to do business in the online gambling industry in Nevada.
Writing at her home over at Flushdraw.com intrepid reporter Haley Hintze advises that a ‘low-level official of the GCB’ contacted her last November to ask questions relating to the ‘controversial background of Iovation’. According to Hintze, the employee was not ‘willing to go the extra mile,’ although she did send him and the GCB an e-mail showing that Pierson was in possession of the ‘God Mode’ cheat facility.
I gave NGC the email showing Greg Pierson in possession of God Mode, and offered to send them plenty more info.
— Haley Hintze (@Haley_Hintze) February 17, 2016
Hintze is an expert on the UB scandal and has since sent the GCB various pieces of information relating to Iovation’s role in the sorry mess, including a transcript of a three hour interview she held with a former key employee of Iovation who explained how the God Mode was created, and how Pierson was connected in the trail of breadcrumbs that were gobbled up so greedily.
Let’s hope the poker industry has made enough noise in the short time that they have and that noise has filled the ears of the NGC.
