You double-click your online poker app and get the bad news. “We’re sorry, but our services are not available in your region at this time,” or something like that.
You’re tech-savvy and think of starting your VPN right away. A friend of yours does the same thing for Netflix, so what could go wrong with a little bit of digital traveling for online poker?
You won’t set foot in the country you’re supposed to be in, but the poker site won’t know… right?
How Players Use a VPN for Poker
Poker players might try to use VPNs for a couple of main reasons:
- The poker site they want to use doesn’t operate where they live.
- A specific mobile poker club only allows members from certain countries and they want to join.
The games on these sites or apps could be softer or they may have larger bonuses, which leads players to try fooling the operator's location security. We aren’t saying it works, but that’s the plan.
In theory, using a VPN for online poker would be the same as using it for other things. You’d pick a location, connect the VPN, and then boot up your poker software. Now, the poker site may think you’re within their eligible region, so you can hit the tables.
That’s how it would work (in theory) but we don’t recommend using a VPN for online poker. Instead, you could choose from any of the mobile poker apps, which generally don’t members from joining, no matter where they live. If that’s not your cup of tea, we can find you a poker room that accepts (and rewards) players from your country.
The next section explains why online poker and VPNs aren’t a good mix.
Why VPNs for Online Poker Aren’t a Great Idea
If you check the terms and services of whatever poker site you play on, you’ll probably find a section about Eligible Locations, or something similar.
Almost certainly, that section explicitly forbids using any electronic means to alter your location. It’s going to be incredibly boring to sift through T&Cs to find the rules, but we assure you, it’s probably there.
For example, take a quick look at the Terms and Conditions from PokerStars, RedStar, and GGPoker.
Those are just three, but you can bet that almost every poker site has similar terms.
If you’re lucky, the site may take pity on you and return your winnings. However, it’s more likely that they’ll confiscate your bankroll, which their terms and conditions usually allow.
When you play online poker with a VPN, you are risking your entire bankroll. On top of that, you’re risking all the time you spent grinding and all the time you spent to fund your account in the first place.
Imagine that you’ve just hit a big score (while using a VPN) and you want to cash out your winnings. The poker site will do its due diligence, discover you aren’t where you are supposed to be, and hold on to your cash (permanently in some cases). Being in the wrong location recently cost one partypoker player about $700,000 and the site operators take it very seriously.
Ways to Play Poker Without VPNs and Location Switching
We’d love to offer you a list of online poker VPNs, but it wouldn’t be ethical.
If you’d rather abide by the conditions and keep your bankroll safe, you still have options. There are plenty of poker sites and even if you feel limited, there will be several that operate in your country.
Option 1: Mobile poker apps, also known as club poker apps. These operators don’t handle player deposits themselves and on the surface, games are totally free. For that reason, a lot of regulations and restrictions don’t apply.
However, players organize real money games on the apps by using agents, who act like cashiers. All you need to do is find a club agent that has a clean track record, with reliable deposits and payouts.
Option 2: Ask our support service to find you a poker room. Searching through the internet and looking through the terms and conditions can take a while.
There’s no need for that. We regularly check and update our list of poker rooms, so we know where our members can play. So, reach out to us and ask about your country. The conversation won’t cost you, but we’ll find you best places to play poker. There won’t be any VPNs needed and you won’t have to worry about operating in a grey area, jeopardizing your bankroll.
- Increased rakeback and personal bonuses
- Help with deposits and cashouts
- Access to mobile applications
- Solving problems with accounts
- Technical support
- Questions about the site and forum