Numerous PokerStars customers who had their accounts locked for playing in the United States have reported that their accounts have been re-opened, but net winnings for play in the United States has been confiscated.
In October, pokerfuse reported how PokerStars was taking a hard-line stance from those trying to get around the geographical restriction imposed by PokerStars since their withdrawal from the US market. Although IP blocks are in place to prevent anyone from connecting inside the US, players can use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to attempt to circumvent these restrictions.
This week, various players have reported that their accounts have now been re-opened. However, profits won during this period have been removed from players’ account balances. For many there was a time delay between breaching the rules and having their accounts closed, and cashier withdrawals were processed during this time. So for some winning players, their accounts have been re-opened, but with a negative balance.
“During your unauthorized play from the US … you had net winnings to the value of $[amount redacted],” reads one email sent to a customer. “Please note that this amount has been deducted from your balance, leaving you with a negative balance … Please log into your account and make a deposit in the cashier to cover the amount due.”
