Back in September, Bodog announced they would begin blocking third party data mining sites in an effort to protect recreational players from being targeted by sharks. The conflict between the two has been kicked up a notch since Bodog introduced their new Anonymous Tables. Not only were the Anonymous Tables designed to prevent data-miners, but it also seems Bodog had the distinct intention of preventing PokerScout.com from collecting data on the traffic at the site and now disputes between the actual traffic numbers have arisen. PokerScout is now reporting a 10% decrease in traffic on Bodog since it unveiled the new anonymous tables, a number that is said to be exaggerated and designed to harm its brand according to Bodog.

According to PokerScout, “Since the update, Bodog has been publishing disinformation and increasingly frantic attacks against PokerScout, mainly through its mouthpiece CalvinAyre website. However, PokerScout prefers to take the high road.”

It adds, “Despite Bodog’s assertions, PokerScout does not give any advantage to some players at the expense of others. Unlike some other websites, we do not track or publish individual player statistics. Many of our readers treat PokerScout as an industry scorecard, showing where the sites rank relative to each other and who is outperforming whom. Other readers drill down into more detail to see what games and limits are popular at the various sites. The data is available freely to everyone, and none of it gives any particular advantage to winning players. Bodog is the only operator to suggest that it does.”

PokerScout’s owner Dan Stewart countered by releasing a statement stating:
“Our current traffic readings for Bodog are projections based on a combination of available data and known traffic patterns. While this data is more volatile than before, we believe it to be accurate on average. If it becomes necessary, we will simply publish estimates of Bodog’s traffic as we do for some other untracked sites.”

The question everyone has to answer for themselves is whether or not they think PokerScout is stealing, or simply offering useful information to players. Many people have mixed opinions on the matter. Therefore, according to the latest poker news, the feud between the two businesses doesn’t show any signs of abating any time soon.