[fnord_too]

I think positive. This may make some people blieve that on line cheating is rampant in the short term, but I think the fact that people are getting busted will eventually result in more confidence. There are all sorts of shows on how people cheat in Vegas, but there are also a lot of shows on the security measures taken to prevent cheating (well, prevent dealer theft which happens to also help fight cheating).

A lot of the people who "know" on line poker is rigged are just looking for a reason (other than they suck) that they lose. The fact that sites are actually doing something about the situation should raise the level of confidence players have that they are getting a fair shake. Most people know that it is possible to cheat in B&M cardrooms, but have some confidence that the game will be fair because the casinos take steps to thwart cheaters.

Also, as SC points out, less cheating is immediately good for all winning players (who don't cheat), and should mitigate some of the short term loss due to reduction of new players caused by the stories (if in fact they do cut down on the number of new players coming in).