Hi,

I'm a French amateur online poker player and a small YouTuber.

I want to share a story with you that has happened to me quite recently and I'm seeking for your help there.

Here is the official "statement" I've made public about it on both my Twitter accounts (@Cyberclems and @RotoGluOn)

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Hi,

I got a story for you.
I wonder what you would do in my shoes...

I published another spin&go game session on my @YouTube channel.
A few days later (on march 15th 2019), my @PokerstarsFR account was frozen.

I was contacted by email by the PS "responsible gambling team" asking me questions about a video
(they didn't even mention which one) in which I was saying (in French, because I'm French) something like
"I want to kill myself" and "I feel depressed" just after a series of bad beats.
There is like 30 minutes of footage after those moments in this given video.

That's not alarming to me because that the kind of things I could just be moaning, after a series of unlucky hands.
I obviously never meant those words... Who, as a poker player, never cursed at all?

Anyway, at the beginning I was like "Damned, is that a joke?"
and then five days later I got a reply from their "responsible gambling team", giving me more details
including the video link and the timed moments they were referring to.
They also asked me whether I was aware of the amount of money I lost in 2018 (giving me the number) or not.

So I replied them (I'm well aware of the numbers, I'm keeping track of them btw, and I'm totally fine with my life).
I have not gotten any answer since then (2 weeks already) and it will be 3 weeks tomorrow that my PS account is frozen.

I can still log-in but can't play anything nor use my freeroll tickets (that are expiring one after another) I got in chests.
Nobody from the Pokerstars support is answering me since then anymore.
I'm sending them an "update account status request" almost daily with no success so far...

The fact is, the mentioned session (video #247 on my poker playlist) was recorded almost one month before
it was published, and I had since recorded dozens of sessions after it so
I still can publish one PS video a day for about three weeks without being depleted.
(plus I meanwhile switched all of my action to @Winamax while it usually was only about 30% vs 70% on PS).

I obviously have no suicidal tendencies but I really wonder how I can retrieve the access to my PS account...

This is an unforeseen situation I think...

#wtf #minorityreport #rekop

---

Today, I've finally received an answer that their decision to keep my account frozen has been made to "protect me".

I'm completely mind boggled there...

I must be the first player on Earth whose account has been suspended for cursing after a series of bad beats and publishing the footage on YouTube...

This is sickening...

Is there any way to get some official Pokerstars member to contact me by phone to sort this out?

Regards,


hehe2


Note: I could paste all the French "original material" if you wish.

It's nothing to do with you cursing/swearing - it's because you said "I want to kill myself" and "I feel depressed" just after a series of bad beats in a public YT video.

Their hands are tied by Regulators requiring them to close accounts of those who appear they might be problem gamblers. Someone must have reported the video to them.

They will not reopen your account so you should either reinspect your reasons for gambling and seek professional help if you realise you are an addicted loser; or, if not, you should move all your play to another site.

I did (move all my play to another site) but I find that very annoying and a lack of discernment from their part regarding what is obviously not meant when said...

Every viewer is able to understand/see that and they're not ?

I'm being accused of something I never did (nor was willing to do)...

This is like so frustrating, I'm put in the same bag as cheaters, bot users and such dirty people while I'm just a fool sharing some of his poker time on YouTube for fun...

I really hope I'll find a way to appeal their decision there... There must be a way.

After your saying "I want to kill myself" and "I feel depressed" just after a series of bad beats in a public YT video, if in the future you did self-harm or were treated for clinical depression, etc, the site would have opened itself up for you to sue them for damages, with no defence. They are not going to reopen your account.

Learn from what you did and move on.

Well, to my understanding, I did nothing (at all/wrong).

To yours it's like I did something terrible... And I can understand that since you've not watched the footage, but had you, you would be sure at 100% that I wasn't meaning the words... That was just cursing...

And btw, I don't think in France I could have sued them for such things. It might be possible in the USA to do so but not here, I'm pretty sure about that.

What I'm totally sure is that I'm not depressed at all and I enjoy life...

I would also very much like to get the access to my account back, that's for sure...

Anyway, I don't know whether there were some similar cases ever before mine but I really don't understand how I could end up in such a silly situation just by not choosing among "the allowed words to curse at online poker"...

I feel so stupid there...

yea, welcome to 2019

The YouTube thing is a new wrinkle, but you're far from the first player to be banned "for his own protection" after 'ranting' about bad beats, or mentioning depression or suicidal thoughts in contact with a poker site.
As part of the 'Responsible gambling' regulations (which are pretty strong in Britain especially, but maybe France too), sites have to show to the regulators that they will close the accounts of people they assume to be "problem gamblers". It sucks if you're affected, but Stars is just trying to play "Good cop" for the benefit of the regulators who renew the site's license.

If you make another video saying you're depressed without your PS account and threaten to off yourself unless they open it, that should do the trick.

I love the mindset but I clearly doubt that would work XD

You gave me a laugh though in this (to me) sad day.

I feel like I've been stolen a part of my life, I was playing with this account since 2005...

How would you feel and what would you do?

When I curse after bad beats I dont say what you said. Maybe you should step away from poker. It obviously doesnt make you money or make you happy so whats the point?

I'd not worry about it since there's nothing you can do to fix it and I'd move to another site. In your case, I think you should take the above posters idea of not playing anymore.

you really should stop saying stuff like this.

Seeing as you're not dead op this is pretty funny. Look at it this way, they did you a favor so now you don't have to grind for worthless chests.

Don't be a sheep buddy. It is a good thing that they banned you from the site, see it as an opportunity to move all your volume elsewhere.
Pokerstars is garbage nowadays so you have lost nothing.

Pretty impressive action by PokerStars, imo.

However, I think my standard advice here is pretty good:

This is really OP's only chance

legit loled, least he didn't threaten harm to employees like a previous poster who had helicopter and armed forces show up.

I doubt there are regulations "tying the hands" of PokerStars to watch youtube streams for signs of a gambling problem. This is the PS responsible gaming team doing a great job of pro-actively checking up on the health of players and protecting them if they show signs of problem gambling.

This is fantastic work and should be commended. It is unfortunate for OP if he is genuinely comfortable with his losses but I think PokerStars has made a great call.

Is there any chance that PokerStars would, or would have to, reconsider if he sought a professional psychiatric opinion, granted he provides the psychiatrist with a way to view the video? I'm not suggesting he do this, I'm just curious how the regulated poker world would handle that situation.

This, imo, on every point.

For one if OP had such a problem that he needed professional psychiatric help, I'm doubtful said professional help would say OP can play poker.

But if they did, why even take the chance? In the rare chance that OP actually did end up doing something to harm himself it would be a PR nightmare.

Your talking about this in the context of PokerStars "having to" accept the guy as a customer. I think there's no obligation on PokerStars to do so.

If he can't get PokerStars to reconsider the decision internally, the obvious option is for him to appeal to ARJEL. I have no idea how they would handle the situation - I imagine they're very likely to uphold whatever PokerStars decides.

PokerStars is refusing his business because, in their determination, allowing him to continue to play is a risk to his mental health. I'm asking if somebody decided to seek out a professionally accredited psychiatrist after PokerStars made that decision, and that psychiatric were to put on record that he disagrees with PokerStar's opinion of the risk that poker is to his mental health, if PokerStars would have to reconsider if he were to appeal their decision in a regulated market? The psychiatrist would then be held responsible if any self-harm was carried out and PokerStars could not be held accountable.

BTW Plenty of people who regularly see a psychiatrist are healthy-minded, high functioning poker players. If sites started banning every player that regular sees a psychiatrist they'd be losing plenty of business, I assure you.


Well not necessarily PokerStars having to, but if the regulatory body could find PokerStars reasoning for this banning to be wrong if a professional psychiatrist went on record stating that they disagreed with PokeStar's opinion about the risk of poker to his mental well-being. I'm more interested if such an appeal has ever been made and if a regulatory body could make such a decision based on a medical professional's opinion.

From OP's Profile:

"I got poker in my veins ;°)
I'm what people would call here a "fish" or a "donk".
I've lost about 25K $ during the past four years to learn poker and I'm just beginning to understand the game ..."

If PS has a proactive system in place to attempt to find problem gamblers, shouldn't they have closed his account, or at the very least interviewed him, a year or two ago, instead of waiting for someone to report a few "trigger" words spoken as part of a show on YT?

Once such comments were made in public, yes, their hands were tied with regard to having to close his account, but I am not at all convinced that the responsible gaming team is doing any fantastic proactive work and should be commended - unless I have missed hearing that big losers are ever contacted and questioned about the affordability of their losses, as a matter of course.

I mean does he have to provide a t4 or w2 to prove he can afford his losses? Is losing 6k a year affordable based on X salary? I'm not really sure what a check-up interview accomplishes unless their asking for physical proof of earnings (a bank statement?) which seems fairly intrusive.