Gnoming (linked accounts)

Using secondary linked accounts, controlled by or colluding with a main player, to funnel funds or advantages to that main account.

Definition

Gnoming is a form of coordinated multi-accounting where extra accounts, the gnomes, exist to feed value to a primary account. In poker it typically means chip dumping, where colluding players deliberately lose to a target player to transfer money; more broadly it covers using linked accounts to clear wagering requirements cheaply, farm referral or bonus rewards, or move funds between identities. Because the accounts are controlled by, or working with, one beneficiary, they usually share tells such as common devices, IP ranges, payment instruments, or funding patterns, which is how anti-fraud and payment analysis exposes the linkage. Gnoming overlaps with money-laundering concerns when the real purpose is moving funds rather than winning.

Worked example

Investigators find several accounts that always lose to one player at the same table and share a funding card, indicating gnome accounts dumping chips to a main account.

Why it matters

For learners, gnoming shows how collusion between linked accounts turns fair play into value transfer. For professionals, detecting shared payment and device signals is central to stopping collusion and related laundering.

Related

Note: The term is used most in poker and peer-to-peer contexts; usage and exact meaning vary across operators.