Do ethics apply in gambling?

They do when you're robotically taking money out of the pockets of the other people at the table.

If it were a 'robots poker contest' that would be a different thing.

That the house takes its 'rake' is one thing, that the guy to your left might be a digital rig is a bit harder to swallow.

It's worth noting to the ethics committee that PokerStars is technically breaking the law and should have ceased accepting deposits like PartyPoker did after the UIGEA was passed.

What about when you're robotically putting money into the other players' pockets? After all, his short-stack bot lost $1300 in total.

Excellent point, but that was accidental. His plan was to do the exact opposite.