Winamax Team Pro Ivan Deyra Banned Over Multi-Accounting

Winamax Team Pro Ivan Deyra has been banned from the popular French online site after Winamax security determined Deyra had played on multiple accounts in the January 4th Super High Roller KO, with a €2,000 entry, part of the Winamax Series. Confronted with considerable evidence, much of it dug out by internet sleuths on the popular French-language Club Poker forums, Deyra admitted his rules-breaking activity.

Deyra won the €2K high roller on the account “MATIVANAO”, which was later determined to belong to Deyra’s father, and which had previously only been seen in small-stakes events. Winamax withdrew the €83,300 from the winning account just days after Deyra’s illicit win and moved all other cashing players up a notch while redistributing the prize money as well.

Winamax’s players also noted that Deyra was a no-show in online events taking place just a few days after the illicit high-roller win, including events and Day 2s where he had already qualified. The accumulated evidence provided a strong clue that Winamax was looking into the situation, though several more days elapsed before the site issued the additional payouts to affected players.

In the wake of the investigation and disqualification, and, in the face of the evidence already made public, Deyra acknowledged the cheating and apologized for his actions. Deyra rationalized his cheating in part because the vast majority of Winamax’s online players can change their screen names every six months, but as a sponsored pro, he was required to keep his well-known handle on his supposed sole account, “ValueMerguez”.

Deyra said:

"In the past, I realized when doing my finances that on Winamax I hadn't been making money for three years, since I became a Team Pro. After asking myself several questions about my game. [ ] I came up with a theory. Players change nicknames every six months. All the information that I collect on their play disappears at this time, but the reverse is not true since I keep the same nickname."

Later, faced with the reality of the situation, Deyra took a more contrite tone. In a statement published by PokerNews France, he said:

"Neither [Winamax] nor I would have wanted this but it is so. Today, with hindsight I recognize the cheating aspect of multi-accounting. How could I have been so naive or oblivious? For the days and nights that follow, I am searching within myself to dig into the reasons for this unforgivable and serious act."

Deyra also lost his sponsorship deal with Winamax due to the multi-accounting incident, being dropped immediately from a contract that would have run at least through June of 2021. Winamax itself has yet to issue a formal statement on the matter, despite the added money transferred to other players and the already acknowledged banning of Deyra from the site. It’s a sharp fall from grace for a formerly rising European star who captured bracelet gold during the 2019 WSOP and has already amassed nearly $1.4 million in official tournament winnings.

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