Will PokerStars allow ID changing on their Poker Software?

Recently, some poker software operators have offered different levels of ID changing for it's online player database. Such as feature allows for two major implications in the game. By changing your own ID at certain intervals, you essentially become an unknown. Imagine going into a poker room you have been frequenting for years and everyone at all of the tables had a paper bag over their head. Anonymous poker, indeed.

The other major effect this will have is the nullifying of database tracking tools, such as found in Poker Edge, as well as your own collection of data, which can instantly become useless. As a matter of course, the only statistics you will be able to rely on will be your session stats, for however long your opponent is at your table.

Bodog and Cake poker have been advancing this issue of late in they poker software, but it's not like everyone is jumping on board…just yet. I asked PokerStars about their poker software plans, if any in regards to player ID changes and this was their response:

PokerStars is very reluctant to approve changes to User IDs. (In their Poker Software)

The "benefit" applies only to you as a result of the User ID change. The "cost" is not to PokerStars; it is other players who are harmed.

PokerStars is easily considered the leading edge of poker software right now.

In a game of limited information like poker, allowing you to change your User ID creates an information imbalance; you still have access to the past playing history of your opponents in the form of hand histories, but they do not have access to the same information. The new User ID is to them a new player they have never played against. This creates an unfair advantage in your favour.

Additionally, the longer you have played at PokerStars, the greater the impact on the integrity of the games. Because the amount of information you know about other players increases over time, so does the size of the advantage to any User ID change.

Furthermore, maintaining the one PokerStars (poker software_account is important for security reasons. All of the things that make your account "yours" are lost if you change to another account. All of your hand histories, your financial transactions, your chat.... everything is left behind and cannot be moved to your new account. For financial security, much of this data is mandatory and cannot be considered dispensable.

We hope you can understand that we work very hard to protect the integrity of our games.

As you can see, they are not considering it at all right now and citing fairness issues. I myself see this both ways, in that completely anonymous poker would be equally fair for everyone, while at the same time negating black hat tactics such as illegal database collection software and hand history sharing that happens all the time.

I think for the time being this is a wait and see on this poker software issue.