Pokerstars seized all of my money (over $5000) for accidentally playing poker on my iPhone with the mobile app while I was on a vacation to the USA. (Im canadian) I meant to play for 'play money'. I played for maybe an hour ($25NL Zoom) and won like $20. The software just allowed me to log on and play for real money without any warnings, notifications. Then when I switched to the hotels wifi, I logged on and got a notification that I'm not allowed to play while in the USA. So I didn't play for the remaining 6 days of my vacation after seeing the warning. They froze my account a week later when I was playing back home in Canada and asked for documents to prove who i am and that I was travelling. I came clean with what happened and I give them the documents. Their next email says that they are seizing all of my funds, but they will still let me play on their site. LOL. I email them back requesting my money back and pick apart the items they referenced in the terms of service. No response in over 2 weeks to that email. I believe they are not acting according to their own Terms of Service and completely unethically. Anyone have experience in dealing with this, or any recommendations?

Fist and foremost post all emails between you and Stars in order.

If what you say pans out it seems you got a raw deal.

That does sound messed up…. I can see grounds on seizing the 20$ you won... if you did not set up some sort of VPN and no message popped up warning you about playing in the U.S.A than PokerStars is basically stealing your money…. would like to read the emails.

Hello,

We are writing to inform you that your account is suspended pending a standard security check, which many of our players have successfully undertaken.

An initial review of your account has revealed that you may have used PokerStars real money services while you were physically located the United States.

As a result of this initial review, PokerStars has determined that:

1. You FIRST used PokerStars' real money services from the United States on/around 09/13/2014.

2. You LAST used PokerStars' real money services from the United States on/around 09/20/2014.

3. During the above period of time, you were revealed as connecting to our services using the internet service provider (ISP) "Comcast Cable", which we believe provides consumer internet services in the United States.

4. During the above period of time, you attempted to hide your true internet protocol (IP) address, so as to appear to our automated servers that you were not located in the United States.

In moving forward, we would appreciate if you could please address the following questions:

1. Where are you currently located?

2. Have you used PokerStars' real money services while physically located in the USA since 15 April, 2011?

3. If so, are the dates that we have listed above for your first and last access from the United States correct? If not, what are the correct dates for your first and last access from the United States?

4. Is there any other information that you would like us to take into account here?

Furthermore, we request that you please provide the following documents:

1. A clear photocopy of a valid Government issued ID card or passport (front and back).

2. If you were visiting the USA, we kindly request that you provide us with a copy of your passport's entry stamp into the United States and the entry stamp into the next country that you visited when you left. If you did not receive either stamp, we may accept copies of your flight itineraries and/or boarding passes.

3. If you were not in the USA we require proof of your whereabouts during the dates in question. We can accept a Bank or Credit Statement showing transactions placed in the following dates: from "09/01/2014" to "09/20/2014".

Please note, if you only receive online bank statements you are welcome to send a screenshot of your statement, ensuring your name, current address, and a recent date are clearly visible. The image taken must be of the entire screen as the URL (the address of a web page on the internet) must be visible.

* If you are providing a Credit Card statement, the statement should show the first 6 and the last 4 digits of the card, and the rest of the numbers should be black out.
* If you are sending a Bank statement then, you will need to black out the whole account number

Our request for information is made in line with our Security Policy, as detailed in our Terms of Service. Please refer to the link below for more information on our Terms of Service, most notably section 4.3, which relates directly to the matter of account verification.

http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/tos

Please note that we need to receive all the documents listed within 48 hours and that any missing documentation will contribute to a delay in the verification process, which may take up to 72 hours.

Please use a scanner or a smartphone to obtain clear images of the requested documentation and send them to:
us.investigations@pokerstars.com.

Once we have received all the required documentation we can then proceed further with your account review.

Please also note that using another account to play on PokerStars during this review will cause any such account to be closed and the funds therein confiscated.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation and look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Isaac
PokerStars Security Team

(submitted documents 24 hours later)
Hi Isaac,

The following documents are attached:
-my Ontario drivers licence (front and back)
-photo of my passport entry stamp into the USA on Sept. 13, 2014.
-photo of my boarding pass for my flight home on Sept. 20, 2014.

Here are my responses to the questions below:
1. I am currently located at my home address in Canada.
2. I have not used PokerStars real money services while physically located
in the US since April 2011.
3. The dates listed are not correct. I believe the real money service was
activated on Sept. 13, 2014 only.
4. I was travelling in the USA for a vacation from Sept. 13-20th. On
Sept. 13th, I logged into my PokerStars account from my iPhone via the
PokerStars mobile app. I logged in normally as I do in Canada. I was
intending to play for 'play money', however I mistakenly entered on the
real money tables, and played a few hands on the zoom tables. Later on I
learned that my hotel offered free Wi-Fi, so I switched my data connection
to the hotel's Wi-Fi service (ComCast). When I tried to log in to my
PokerStars account from this service, a notice appeared describing
PokerStars rules regarding playing in the USA. After reading and
accepting that message, I played only on the 'play money' tables. I would
like to point out that statement #4 from your initial review is false. In
no way did I attempt to hide my true IP address from PokerStars, I did not
manipulate the information used by PokerStars to determine my location,
nor did I provide false or misleading information about my location. I
literally logged on to the PokerStars mobile app from my iPhone, as I
normally would in Canada, as described above, with the intention of
playing for 'play money'. I apologize for the inconvenience this has
caused, and hope to continue playing on your site, as PokerStars is
obviously the most fair and secure site in the industry.

Feel free to contact me on my cell.

Thanks,

PokerStars then resent their "Standard Security Check email" in response to an email I had sent to PokerStars general inquiries which was simply to ask why my account was frozen.

However, this time the Standard Security Check email did not have item #4.
"4. During the above period of time, you attempted to hide your true internet protocol (IP) address, so as to appear to our automated servers that you were not located in the United States."

Just to be sure, I resent my documents in response to this email.

If you PM me your PokerStars UID I'll be happy to check into this for you.

Hello,

Thank you for your email.

We are writing to inform you that we have completed our investigation as a result of your access to our real-money services while located in the United States (or territories of the United States).

In accordance with the agreement between PokerStars and the US Department of Justice and also in accordance with our Terms of Service, which can be found on the link below, most notably sections 5.11 and 8.1:

http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/tos/

Please be advised that, on occasion, we may be required to amend the Terms of Service. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with any changes made to the Terms of Service.

During our investigation, we were able to determine the following:

1. Your first day of access to PokerStars real-money services from inside the United States was on September 13th, 2014.

2. Your last day of access to PokerStars real-money services from inside the United States was on September 13th, 2014.

Based on the above information and in accordance with our Terms of Services, we would like to inform you that your account balance has been seized and your funds will be redistributed to appropriate responsible gaming charities around the world.

Now, if you continue to access our real-money services from inside the United States after the issue of this final warning, your account will be indefinitely closed, and all available funds at the time of detection will be seized as well.

This also extends to all individuals who are detected using PokerStars real-money services from the United States, regardless of whether or not you are residents or citizens of the United States. It applies to you whenever you visit the United States.

Consequently, your account has been reinstated and you are welcome to use your account in accordance with our Terms of Service.

We thank you once again for your co-operation and hope that you will continue to enjoy playing at PokerStars.


Regards

Will
PokerStars Investigations Team

I think that generally speaking if PokerStars doesn't have any victims to distribute the money to, you'll usually end up getting your money back. In this case I'd bet you'll get it back.

Were you in a border state? If what you say is true, then somehow your data provider assigned you a foreign IP address.

haha, pretty lol they did not even attempt to help you out until you make this thread. What azz clowns

You wrote that you "played a few hands on the zoom tables".

Exactly how many real money hands did you play while on vacation?

I responded to their last email with a long-winded email of my own, basically saying:
-PokerStars mobile software is also at fault for letting me simply log on and play normally.
-TOS item 5.11 - logging in to the mobile app from an iPhone is not an "attempt to circumvent the restrictions". They even clarify what they mean by "attempting to circumvent the restrictions" … essentially using a VPN. Im sure the US DOJ would be interested in that.
TOS item 8.1 - "PokerStars reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit" - punishment does not fit the crime, unethical, etc
-clean player with no record, and did not jeopardize other players… a reasonable punishment would be a slap on the wrist, or take away my winnings ($20), and/or VPP.
-i expect fair treatment, please return my money

Florida

I don't know exactly how many. I played just on the first day up to the point when i switched to the hotels wifi. Probably played 3 tables of .10-.25 ZOOM, for 30 minutes or so. No way I played that much more... my GF would have killed me!


That would be pretty solid if you can help out Chris.. whats your email?

In the meantime i'll just keep emailing the Isle of Man Gaming Commission, Canadian Gaming Commission, International Gaming Commission (IAGR), and US Department of Justice.

Maybe see if they'll throw in some VPP.

Thanks bro,

he says PM not email

Just trying to put a number on it.

Estimating 250 hands per hour on .10-.25 ZOOM (as shown in lobby now)
for 1/2 hour
on 3 tables
is about 375 hands

If you can PM me here that's easiest but if you are unable to do so email vipclub@pokerstars.com with ATTN: Chris in the subject.

First sentence already spells defeat. No play money for 25 dollars and you played for a an hour. GL op I saw pokerstars support in thread I thought it was pretty black and white if you play in states your account is closed. On ops side though, he should not even have been allowed to play . Not like he was using vpn or tor or some complicated work around it seems.

Wow i read whole thread instead of first sentence. Pokerstars was going to take his 5k redistribute to gambling charities and let him play. Thats insane.

ok i sent it to your email Chris… i couldn't figure out how to PM

Seems absurd to confiscate funds here other than any funds won while playing in the US - to confiscate funds but not ban OP from playing on Stars is just disgraceful, a ban or tempban should always come before funds confiscation in terms of serious punishments.

Assuming OP is telling the truth about not using a VPN and the software letting him play normally until he switched to wifi, it seems like a more fair punishment would be to confiscate funds won in the US, a first and final warning and if if necessary a week's ban or something from Stars assuming it's a first offense

I would have no problems with that as a punishment…. and i think the money should go back to the other players if thats the case.


and yes its a first offence

What happens in Florida stays in Florida.

What's the name of the charity? The Amaya debt fund?

Absolutely disgraceful. Imagine this player had never heard of 2+2? He'd be out 5k. How was he allowed to even play in the States in the first place (assuming he didn't use a VPN) which seems to be the case. If anything OP should send this info to the DOJ to show that Stars doesn't abide by the terms of their settlement.

Glad that Pstars Chris is looking into this.

Prolly does not help your case that you blatantly lied to them in your first reply

what do you mean?

apologies, after re-reading it might not have been your first reply, but was in a reply to them