Pokerstars Vpn
PokerStars is asking a California judge to throw out a lawsuit against it filed by 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up Gordon Vayo, because it believes the Golden State isn’t the right place for it.
A motion to dismiss Vayo’s suit was scheduled to be heard Sept. 25 in front of US District Court Central District of California Western Division Judge Frederick Mumm. However, it has now been moved to Nov. 6.
Vayo earned more than $4.6 million finishing second to 2016 WSOP Main Event Champion Qui Nguyen. He claims PokerStars refused to pay him almost $700,000 he won in a Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event last year.
PokerStars Proxy Guide. Does your computer connect to the Internet through a proxy server, or do you need to use a proxy to be able to access PokerStars?Here’s a PokerStars proxy guide from PokerStars support, with information on how to connect to with a proxy. This is easily and securely solved with Virtual Private Network technology. In this article, I will tell you what VPN services are used for PokerStars and any other poker sites. How to unblock online poker: 3 easy steps. Pokerstars can detect whether a user is accessing their site via a VPN. It uses a database of “well known” VPN servers to identify whether the user is using a VPN or not. Remember everyone that uses the VPN will have the same IP address, this is known as a Shared IP.
Was Vayo in Canada?
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Vayo filed the lawsuit this past May alleging the site falsely accused him of breaching its terms of service by surreptitiously playing the event from inside the United States. Vayo claims to have been in Canada throughout the May 2017 tournament.
However, PokerStars claims Vayo was connected to the internet through a mobile device in Los Angeles using a Canadian mobile internet provider to make it look like he was in Canada.
Vayo has admitted to using a virtual private network (VPN) to access video streaming services while in Canada as an explanation for why PokerStars may have red flagged his account in the first place.
However, Vayo’s lawyers also allege PokerStars froze his account and spent nearly a year harassing him. All under the guise that it was investigating his whereabouts during the tournament.
The lawsuit claims PokerStars pried into every aspect of Vayo’s record and demanded he produce detailed retroactive proof of his location. Plus, the site even opened investigations into his friends’ accounts.
Vayo claims he submitted the evidence he was in Canada that PokerStars asked for. However, they essentially turned around and said it wasn’t enough.
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Is PokerStars freerolling players?
The suit goes on to allege PokerStars has been freerolling relocating US players for years:
“Since approximately 2011, (PokerStars) has engaged in a practice of approving U.S. citizens and residents for play on the PokerStars.com site, allowing and encouraging them to play on the site, happily taking their money – in many cases for years. Then, after a U.S. citizen or resident wins a significant amount of money on the PokerStars.com site, (PokerStars) conducts a sham investigation into the user’s activities and the location of the user’s access of the site, placing the onus on the player to retroactively prove that it is ‘inconceivable’ that his or her play could have originated from within the United States, in order to gin up a pretext to deny payment.
“In this way (PokerStars) takes the money of (Vayo) and other users of the PokerStars.com site with impunity, while depriving the same users of their largest winnings if and when they occur.”
In its motion to dismiss filed in July, PokerStars claims California is not the right venue to hear the case. Mostly because its online gaming license is in the Isle of Man, UK.
Lawyers for the site are also arguing it would be too costly to hold the case in California.
Can Vayo get a fair shake in the Isle of Man?
However, Vayo’s legal team says the same about moving it to the Isle of Man. In fact, Vayo claims he won’t be able to secure competent counsel on the Isle of Man. Plus, the courts there are likely biased because the gaming industry is such a large part of the local economy.
The suit stems from the first event on the 2017 PokerStars SCOOP schedule. The final five players chopped, leaving an additional $100,000 for the winner. Vayo went on to capture the title and earn a total of $692,460.
PokerStars was forced out of the US market and charged under various money laundering and illegal gambling laws in 2011. It settled the case and came back in 2016 after obtaining a license to operate in New Jersey. The site is now looking to move into the Pennsylvania online gambling market when it opens as well.
PokerStars left no doubt that it would try to strictly enforce the wishes of the Department of Justice this week, with a spate of suspensions of player accounts flagged for playing within US borders.
Numerous players have reported in the last few days that their accounts have been locked when playing on PokerStars in the United States. One player reports that their $24k account had been recently locked due to play in the US back in June during the WSOP, and would remain closed “pending further legal review.”
Although it is not possible to connect directly to PokerStars from the United States, players can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to mask their location: A player’s connection is routed through a server hosted in another country, effectively changing the client IP address and thus hiding the true location of the request. PokerStars explicitly prohibits the use of VPNs to circumvent geographical blocks.
Although likely to be technically unfeasible to detect the usage of a VPN connection, if a player temporarily disconnects from the VPN tunnel, then their true geographical location will be unmasked. Apparently, these small connection discrepancies have been diligently logged, and this week PokerStars moved to suspend accounts with such violations.
“We are not really sure what will happen [to the suspended accounts] yet,” said PokerStars’ VIP Manager Steve Day, talking on this week’s 2+2 PokerCast, a PokerStars-sponsored podcast. “The accounts get frozen, and then we wait for guidance from the independent moderator who was appointed by the Department of Justice what to do with the funds in these accounts and what to do with the accounts in the future.”
Since PokerStars stopped serving US players in April following the Black Friday indictments, it has been forthright with its intention to adhere to the requests of the DOJ in prohibiting play from within the United States, both from residents and visitors. In a special USAFAQ, PokerStars directly addresses the question of VPN usage:
Can I use a VPN or IP randomizer to appear as though I am outside the US and still play on PokerStars.com from within the United States?
No. Real money play is not allowed from within the US under any circumstances. Players who attempt to play for real money from inside the US with the aid of VPNs or other technical workarounds will lose their playing privileges and/or funds in their account.
From PokerStars’ updated terms and conditions, it states:
“Residents of other nations are not permitted to engage in real-money play while located in the United States. Any attempt to circumvent the restrictions … is a breach of this Agreement. An attempt at circumvention includes … manipulating the information used by PokerStars to identify your location.”
On the PokerCast, Day admitted that many people are still trying to play from within the US: “People realize now we are enforcing this. We don’t always catch every single person on the first try … so people hear anecdotes from their friends, 'oh I did it, I didn’t immediately get … banned from the site. So obviously it’s okay for you to [play from within the US] too.’”
Day gives one example of a player who was only 200k VPPs away from Supernova Elite (PokerStars’ much coveted top-tier VIP level) who had his account suspended after a friend told him it was safe to play on a VPN.
“Tell all your friends – it’s a mistake to try to do this,” Day adds. “Many people are getting caught, and the consequences are severe. We have to enforce the rules.”