Those tuning in to PokerGO for the World Series of Poker main event final table on Tuesday quickly discovered the platform was experiencing technical issues.
The site suffered from a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack. As a result, the platform was unable to display the action from the biggest event of the year.
Consequently, PokerGO moved the coverage to the company’s YouTube channel and aired it for free.
That initially had some hiccups as well. Early action of the final table was unavailable for some viewers. However, PokerGO was able to get the stream back up on YouTube for most of the day’s play.
“We’re aware of technical difficulties,” the company noted on X/Twitter after experiencing issues on the main service. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Commentators Jeff Platt and Brent Hanks referenced the attacks on air as the final nine players battled it out at the table. PokerGO later restored service to the streaming platform.
The free coverage on YouTube meant a wider audience got to see a quick-paced final table, with four players eliminated in the first two hours. PokerGO saw 941,000 viewers on YouTube, not including those who went back to the app platform to watch the coverage.
Just four players remain and the action resumes tonight, playing down to a winner. Streaming coverage begins on PokerGO at 3 pm PT.
Cybersecurity A Prominent Gambling Issue Lately
A DDoS cyberattack maliciously floods a targeted computer system with traffic meant to overwhelm a service, making the site unavailable to users. The casino and gaming industry has been a regular target of hackers in recent years.
That has included a major security breach at MGM casinos in 2023 and an Arizona casino experienced a similar attack in 2024.
In 2022, hackers forced PokerStars o cancel several tournaments as part of the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) tournament series after experiencing hacking attempts. The operator replayed many events later in the year.
Photo courtesy of PokerGO/Enrique Malfavon
