Improved tech has made it possible for online poker players to engage in their favorite activity without leaving the house (some might call it a dream come true!) But on a more serious note, for players across the world, accessing online poker rooms can be quite challenging due to issues to do with licensing and zoning, especially when on a trip.
So… when traveling across borders, logging into your poker account can prove impossible due to unfavorable local regulations and geographical limitations of the specific website. That’s when you should turn on that virtual private network (VPN) to continue playing your favorite poker game like you never left your home. Read on for more information on why using a VPN when playing online poker can remove all the worries you might have.
Why Use a VPN to Play Online Poker?
With a VPN, you have a powerful tool to encrypt your internet traffic and change your virtual location while allowing you to browse the internet more securely and freely. Here are the reasons why you should use a VPN while playing online poker.
To access popular poker rooms when on the move
A common situation could be the following: you are visiting a country where your favorite gambling website is geo-blocked. In that case, you need a VPN to overcome these limitations. A VPN works by blocking your IP address and spoofing your virtual location so that the gambling site cannot detect your actual location. All you need is a VPN server located in a country where the gambling site operates freely. With that, you can access your online poker account without any trouble whatsoever.
To protect the connection from scams and DDoS attacks
Of course, online poker sites are hard to access in some countries, but this isn’t the only problem. Many of them are the target of cybercriminals who may carry out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to drastically reduce the speed of a gambling site or even hack it. When this happens, you may lose your money due to an unexpected lag in the service. If successful, hackers may steal your personal data and hold it at ransom until you pay a certain amount. They may also steal your personal funds after breaking into your account.
And that’s exactly why you need a VPN for playing online poker. There are several VPNs that provide effective security against hacks, phishing scams, and public network threats.
What Are the Main Challenges of Accessing Online Poker Rooms
Online poker rooms are accessible to millions of users worldwide. It is estimated that over 100 million people participate in online poker rooms globally. Of these, a large portion are recreational players while the rest are real-money players. This number is expected to grow even with the increased penetration of mobile technology to previously unreached parts of the world. Users can access online poker rooms through websites or convenient apps on their tablets or smartphones from almost anywhere in the world.
The only limiting factor is that these websites and apps aren’t available in some countries or regions due to regulatory issues. Both poker players and casino players need to do some digging regarding the terms of the operators. There are very few comprehensive lists in the poker scene for that, but for slot enthusiasts there’s plenty of resources covering which online casinos allow VPN players to log in and spin some reels..
But this isn’t the only challenge of playing online poker as you will discover in the next sections.
What Legal Issues You Might Face With Playing in Different Countries
Some countries have put a total ban on online poker and other gambling activities, making it impossible for players to access their favorite games. In some countries (UAE and Iran) with strict religions, regulatory regimes ensure strict internet censorship to stop their residents from activities they consider immoral.
Still, in other countries (China and North Korea), residents cannot freely use the internet. In Australia and the US, lack of gambling regulations at the federal level means online poker is only allowed in a few states and not others.
Here is a brief overview of the availability of online gambling or the lack of it in various regions and parts of the world.
Europe
Most European countries have regulations on online gambling rather than imposing an outright ban. For instance, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain have localized licensing regimes with the mandate to control the access of users to online gambling websites and applications. In Germany, the UK, and Scandinavia, players have easy access to popular poker sites, including 888Poker, GGPoker, and PokerStars. Cyprus restricts online gambling despite being a haven for companies seeking to establish new online poker sites. Even in Finland, a state monopoly does not outrightly ban online gambling, it limits players’ access to licensed platforms.
Asia
Asia generally has stricter gambling regulations compared to Europe. Thus, online gambling is outrightly banned in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen. In Bangladesh, gambling is strictly prohibited and anyone caught engaging in online gambling is punished under the law. The Chinese regime bans casino and poker gambling and only allows social play.
In Japan, gambling for money is illegal. Similarly, Turkey has banned online gambling except state-sanctioned betting. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as an improvement on gambling being traditionally banned, the country has opened to a few regulated offerings. In India, online poker is legalized on a state-by-state basis, allowing players freedom in some parts of the country. In Indonesia and Philippines, players can participate on foreign-based sites since local providers are totally banned.
Latin America
In most countries in Latin America, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Uruguay, online gambling is one hundred percent legal. There is no clear regulation of online gambling in Brazil and Mexico. Thus, residents can play their favorite online poker games without looking over their shoulders. In Cuba and most countries in the Caribbean, online poker is either banned or strictly regulated. Argentina relies largely on province-based regulations, which means online poker is allowed in some parts of the country and not others.
Canada and the US
Canada lacks clear federal-based laws regulating online gambling but access to online poker sites can be restricted from one state to another. In the US, there is no outright prohibition of online poker. A federally sanctioned Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) prohibits US-based operators from processing payments for American citizens. Gaming enthusiasts can legally play online poker in six states of Delaware, Nevada, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Australia
Australia does not outrightly prohibit gambling even though existing federal laws do not allow online casinos to offer real-money games to residents of the country. Players can access and participate in popular online poker sites but not wager real money during the playing sessions.
Africa
African countries such as Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, and Tunisia have some form of restriction on all forms of online gambling. In South Africa, restrictions and province-based, with some local authorities allowing online poker in all its forms. In Egypt and Nigeria, gambling is partially illegal. In the rest of Africa, online gambling is either outrightly permitted or left unregulated. This means that residents of and visitors to these countries can play poker online on any of the major gambling sights.
Geo-blocking
This refers to the blocking of access to certain online services by providers in particular countries or regions. Due to this, some services by online poker rooms become unavailable in certain countries. The main reasons for geo-blocking are copyright and licensing agreements that restrict access to these services. Accessing online poker sites in regions where they are prohibited may result in legal consequences and the suspension of user accounts.
Network limitations
If you have been playing online poker for a while, you probably understand the need for high-speed internet in ensuring a seamless experience. As such, you must be aware of the effects of network limitations and lags that unwittingly frustrate your play.
How to Choose a VPN for Online Poker: Criteria
So, you are at the point of choosing a VPN to use when gambling online? Here are a few things to which you may want to pay attention:
Credibility
Avoid free VPNs since they are less credible, inefficient, slow, and sometimes dangerous. Remember a VPN collects your data as soon as you sign up. If it is fake, it may sell this information to third parties without reference to you. So, crucially, you need a VPN provider with a strict No Logs policy. In that case, it will not collect and store your connection or activity logs. This ensures that your privacy is protected all the time.
Server Network Size
A good VPN provider has several servers in different locations, allowing you to pick the best possible virtual location. Besides, a provider with over 2,000 servers is way faster than those with a handful of servers. Many servers also enable a VPN to better protect online poker players against DDoS attacks.
Privacy and security features
Any failure in your VPN connection will likely leave your private data (such as your location and IP address) exposed. That’s why you need a VPN with a kill-switch feature that prevents the leakage of your personal information by shutting down the internet connection. Besides, ensure the stated encryption standard (such as AES-256) can hide your online communications from third parties.
Connection speed
As mentioned earlier, you need a high-speed connection for a seamless gambling experience. Of course, a VPN may slightly reduce your internet connection speed because of traffic encryption. That’s why you should pick a VPN with highly effective services that do not limit your internet speed.
Compatibility
The ideal VPN should work smoothly on Windows as well as macOS. It should also be compatible with Android and iOS devices. Besides, the VPN should work perfectly well with poker software or websites. If not, it will limit how well you are able to use it when playing poker online.
