Dewey Tomko(pictured), a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and 2008 Poker Hall of Fame inductee, recently published an editorial in the Press of Atlantic City voicing his concerns about how cheating could have the potential to cause major damage to the newly legalized online poker industry in the US.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In May 2014, Tomko said the following about the Press of Atlantic City story: “I have no association whatsoever to anything to do with that. I don’t play online poker. I’ve never played online poker before. Not even once. I don’t know anything about it. Why would I say something on something I know nothing about? I don’t do that.”

The veteran poker player’s chief concern was the threat of collusion and bots at the tables. “What worries us is well-organized teams of cheaters using hidden technology to steal from novice players now that Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have gone live with legalized internet poker,” he said.

While Tomko admitted that collusion by only two players would be easy to find, adding more players to the mix would make detection quite difficult. “Add a fourth colluding cheater and the team can gain a significant edge and, at the same time, make finding them reliably and consistently very difficult,” he wrote.

Tomko sites Sheldon Adelson’s Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, which recently touted a letter from the FBI to Congress outlining its fears regarding the industry. “Online casinos are vulnerable to a wide array of criminal schemes,” it said. “For example, criminals may participate in games with exclusively criminal players to launder criminal proceeds or criminals might intentionally lose a game to a public official in order to effect a bribe payment.”

In an ad by the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, the organization even hyperbolically claimed that online poker could be used to finance a 9/11-style attack. Stepping back from the hysteria, though, studies by economist Friedrich Georg Schneider have shown that the online poker industry is “by no means relevant for money laundering.” The poker economy is far too small and the fees too high, he said.

Opponents of the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling like the Poker Players Alliance have chimed in with the same sentiment. “The notion that licensed and regulated internet poker would be an attractive conduit for terrorism financing is, on its face, laughable,” said John Pappas (pictured), director of the organization. “There isn’t a shred of evidence to support this, except for far-fetched claims manufactured by this coalition.”

Tomko’s apprehension is not meant to say that he is against the regulation of online poker in the US. “While we fully support the legalization of internet poker, we urge regulators and poker website operators to take every possible measure to ensure the integrity of the game is never compromised, nor in question,” he said. “Anything less risks bringing dishonor to the game that has been so much a part of our lives.”

For their part, regulators have implemented strict rules and penalties that casinos must follow regarding cheating and collusion. “The casino licensee shall have an internet gaming manager responsible for the operation and integrity of internet gaming and reviewing all reports of suspicious behavior,” states the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement on its website.

“The internet manager shall immediately notify the division upon detecting any person… engaging in or who is reasonably suspected of cheating, theft, embezzlement, collusion, money-laundering, or any other illegal activities,” it continues.

For those caught in the act, the penalties can be harsh and mirror brick-and-mortar property policies in Nevada and New Jersey. The threat of jail time will likely make potential cheaters think twice, unlike at an unregulated poker site where the only punishment could be to ban the player’s account.

The Hall of Famer urges regulators to perform “stress tests” in order to ensure the newly operational poker sites are safe for new players. “Online poker relies on large player pools with many newcomers,” he said. “The loss of trust of novice players will be damaging to the entire industry.”