Conference Day 2: Digital Opportunities and Challenges (2B)

Dishonest behaviour in online bridge tournaments during the COVID-19 pandemic

Tihana Brkljačić, Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar in Zagreb and Catholic, University of Croatia

During the COVID-19 pandemic at least 30 world-class bridge players were found cheating in online tournaments. Most of them were „self-kibitzing“ using a different device under a fake account to kibitz their own game and see all the cards. Detailed expert hand analysis and powerful statistical tools left little doubt in their guilt. Confronted with the evidence, some of them publically confessed their dishonesty.

Goal: The aim of this study was to analyse those confessions as well as most popular comments of members of one of the biggest online bridge community: Bridge Winners.

Method: We applied thematic content analysis to explore (a) explanations of cheating provided by confessors; (b) supportive messages by commentators (e.g. understanding and forgiving); (c) judging messages by commentators (e.g. blaming and accusing).

Findings: Confessors made clear that they were fully aware that they done wrong thing. They explained their behaviour by (a) their belief that others (ie their opponents) were cheating too (b) lockdown crises (eg tiredness, family issues); and (c) the fact that online cheating was so easy. The analysis of the comments showed that judging messages outnumbered supportive ones. Judging messages were also more often liked by Bridge Winners member compared to supportive messages. The findings were discussed using the theory of self-concept maintenance and Simple Model of Rational Crime (SMORC).

Card Confessions: Unravelling Digital Bridge during Lockdown

Jordan Maclean Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling; Samantha Punch Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling; Michael Xu

Since the onset of COVID-19, there have been several public confessions to ‘cheating’ from international players in the online version of the card game bridge. Whilst cheating is a perennial issue in the world of elite sports (Culbertson 2005; Ronglan 2015; Sheridan 2007; Watson and White 2007), little is known about how bridge compares as a mindsport. The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to examine a public confession from an international bridge player and the responses from the bridge community; and second, to consider the ways in which the shift to digital bridge during COVID-19 has changed the landscape of cheating. A Foucauldian theoretical lens is proposed for examining the case of a young world champion who publicly ‘confessed’ (Foucault 2021) to ‘self-kibitzing’ when playing in online bridge tournaments. Using a ‘concept as method’ approach, the confession is an entry point into the analysis, followed by unravelling public and organisational responses. The findings illustrate how the use of confessions has become a new model of ‘governmentality’ as the bridge world grapples with cards digitally. To conclude, we call on others to consider the effects of COVID-19 on new modes of cheating across different sports.