How to play online poker legally from the Netherlands, is this even possible?

[wwzsocki]

I have a lot of time during this pandemic and the Netherlands as many other countries is closed, so I thought it will be a great time to start playing poker (tournaments, sit and goes, freerolls) again, but to my surprise, all my accounts (which I have registered years ago) by Party Poker, Winamax, 888, Americas Cardroom and many other poker rooms are not active anymore and I can't play there because Netherland is one of the restricted countries.

I had a few years break from online poker but I didn't know that the situation is so bad in the Netherlands? Is this still possible to play poker online with my real IP? Where if yes?

I hope there are at least a few players from the Netherlands on this forum and they will be so kind to help me.

P.S
I know that I could use a VPN or proxy server to hide my real IP but what with the verification? Is there any way to pass positively the proof of address?

[tyKiwanuka]

From all I know, dutch customers are not restricted from playing at PokerStars and that would be the place to go, because it's the biggest poker site there is. Please note, that you have to do KYC with them. Then you can find poker clients with some major bookmakers (Bet365, William Hill etc.).

If you don't like to be KYCed, you can choose to play at SwC poker with crypto (BTC). There is also a tournament series starting tomorrow, if you want to play against your fellow forumites : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5236603.0

[wwzsocki]

From all I know, dutch customers are not restricted from playing at PokerStars and that would be the place to go...

Indeed you are right and I was able to recover my old account password on PokerStars and Americas Cardroom. Thank you very much for the tip.

These poker rooms are big enough to comfortably play there but still, I wasn't able to find the exact restricted countries in their terms of service.

...If you don't like to be KYCed, you can choose to play at SwC poker with crypto (BTC). There is also a tournament series starting tomorrow, if you want to play against your fellow forumites : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5236603.0

I know this thread and even got PM lately with an invitation to this exclusive tournament for Bitcointalk members. Who knows maybe I will apply.

PS
Is PokerStars the only poker room for people with dutch IP? (question to the hall community).

[tyKiwanuka]

This poker room is big enough to comfortably play there but still, I wasn't able to find the exact restricted countries in their terms of service.

In german, but I think you are able to understand/speak it: https://www.pokerstars.eu/de/poker/promotions/terms/prohibited-jurisdictions/

Is PokerStars the only poker room for people with dutch IP? (question to the hall community).

Americas Cardroom is not restricted for dutch people according to this:

14. SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTION: Residents of Sweden, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Mayotte, Réunion, Martinique, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada or Washington State are not permitted to view this site or use any of the games accessed through software downloads provided hereby. From time to time, in its sole discretion, ACR may amend the list of specific geographic restrictions from which You may not access any of the Services.

Source: https://www.americascardroom.eu/poker-customer-support/terms-and-conditions/


In general it's quite hard to find good poker sites nowadays besides PokerStars, since Poker isn't booming anymore. The smaller sites all lack traffic, FullTilt was bought by PokerStars, others were closed by FBI etc. According to this, IDN Poker is quite big, but I don't know that site and The Netherlands seems to be restricted anyway. GGPoker might be an option for you, since dutch customers can play there.

[DarkDays]

Cryptocurrency poker sites should be exempt from this rule, since cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender.

https://realpoker.net/

This one should worth in the Netherlands.

https://coinpoker.com/#faq

This one also seems to be working worldwide.

Can't vouch for whether they are genuine though, so it's worth doing your due diligence.

[wwzsocki]

https://realpoker.net/
https://coinpoker.com/#faq

I will check them but as for now, I have already found two big online poker rooms that are accepting my IP, thanks to TyKiwanuka.

It is important for all online poker rooms to have enough traffic (players) and I am afraid that these two you provided, are not known well enough to have a decent amount of action there.


PS
It is already confirmed that PokerStars and Americas Cardroom are accepting people from the Netherlands. Both are good, with a decent amount of players and games.

So if anybody wants to play online poker with Dutch IP, this is the place to go.

Another poker room which I am checking is Winamax because when I log in, I see a popup window, which says that from my localization I would be able to play only with the play money or in the freerolls. I have sent a message to the support, to confirm this because Netherland is between restricted countries in their ToS and I want to be sure if they will pay when I win such a freeroll and Wnamax is known to have many, good freerolls.

[swogerino]

It is great that you can play poker in this pandemic time.Which is the best poker site with heavy traffic you or anyone else know beside the Swc.I struggle to find such a site from a long time now.I would love to see a ranking of the sites with the most traffic and the most sit n goes.

[wwzsocki]

...Which is the best poker site with heavy traffic you or anyone else know beside the Swc...

For sure Pokerstars is a great poker room with a lot of players. There were almost 80K people by the tables an hour ago.
There is enough traffic, but I don't like or rather for me there are not enough small stakes Texas Holdem tournaments, sit and goes and freerolls. There is plenty of Omaha tables and tournaments if this is something for you.

The second poker room which works for me is Americas Cardroom and here is also decent traffic. I haven't checked their tournaments lobby closely yet, but I was really happy to see small and medium stakes Texas Holdem tables full of players. There are enough people to play with, literally on all stakes and this is important that there are many fishes. I still had 1,15$ in my account and was able to win 10x in two hours. Additionally, there is a possibility to deposit cryptocurrencies.

I have to mention that I had a long break from playing poker and that was really a surprise for me that I was winning so easily today. It was enough to play wisely a few best hands because there are many aggressive fishes that will go all-in with a pair or even nothing.

[qomariah95]

Actually IP is not a problem that often happens, unless the IP in your country indeed forbids gambling. And you have to use VPN for example, in my country to play gambling it is not necessary to change my original IP, because I can still gamble.

[imstillthebest]

Actually IP is not a problem that often happens, unless the IP in your country indeed forbids gambling. And you have to use VPN for example, in my country to play gambling it is not necessary to change my original IP, because I can still gamble.

op already knows this trick based on what i have read above  . he is far more concerned of the verification or the kyc  . we know that kyc is hassel than a resteicted ip as its requires id and other stuffs but he can bypass it if he will buy or borrows someone kyc and input on that site  . if he dont want to do those then his last resort is finding other alternative gambling sites.  there many gambling sites that we can access and play without restriction and kyc's  , so why not stress our selves on a few site that have them ?

[Sadlife]

If your country has law about banning online casino's then it might still be possible if your ISP didn't block your favorite gambling sites.
But i think you should try playing in Cryptocurrency gambling sites as some offers no KYC, anonymity and no personal data and possibly their URL has not yet been blacklisted.

[Nadziratel]

I live in Turkey, where betting and gambling, including online ones bans all platforms. (Of course, everyone is trying to break these bans.) Of course, accountability is important. Care should be taken before using any other than decentralized ones. Is there such a ban in the Netherlands? If there is no prohibition or restriction on gambling, I think those who are online can also be used.
Still, I am sure there is someone who gives more detailed information on this subject and who knows the Dutch legal status.

[rhomelmabini]

Pokerstar is amazing site I just actually sign up for the first time their but with the KYC thing and no payment options yet for any crypto I am afraid I may not be able to lurk within the platform. SwC is a good choice since it has quite a traffic and KYC thing isn't a problem.

[Question123]

We know VPN is one of the way to access a website that is restricted to one country and if your country but he gambling website with the help of VPN you can open it.

They have many poker online that you can play through the online and that there's no need verification just use crypto coins for sending and receiving so your transaction will become faster so you don't have problems and you can play gambling.

Im thankful because my country don't have any restricted to the online gambling even it's traditional.

[wwzsocki]

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Thank you very much for all answers and tips provided.

As you can see, I already got an answer to the question: "How to play online poker legally from the Netherlands?".

For sure PokerStars and AmercasCardroom are operating legally in the Netherlands. Additionally, both of them have decent traffic and AC even accept cryptocurrencies as a deposit method.

So now, I will close this thread. Thanks one more time for your answers and help. Stay healthy and safe!!!