VPN use and legalities when playing at an online casino
Are you planning to use a VPN to play at an online casino? You may risk losing your money. Here we discuss what is legal and what is not.
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The internet is a place of endless possibilities and few restrictions. Governments and business enterprises have tried to put up fences for security and profit reasons. While some of these measures are successful, there are still easy ways to circumvent them.
One of the most popular options out there for this purpose is Virtual Private Networks or VPNs. By allowing users to mask their locations and identities, these services allow them to access content that might be otherwise banned for them.
Gambling is a great example of an activity/service that attracts contrasting opinions. While legal in some regions, it carries a strong stigma and outright prohibition in other areas. Players living in areas without access to legal gambling often use VPNs to access offshore sites.
What is a VPN and why do people use them?
A VPN is an online tool for privacy and anonymity. It is offered as a service by specialized businesses. These service providers maintain their servers in many countries across the world. When you become a subscriber to a VPN service, you get a list of available server locations.
If you stay in the UK and pick Germany from the list, your internet connection will be masked and routed through the company’s servers in Germany. To any website you connect after that, it will appear as if you are visiting from Germany, and not the UK.
Many people use VPNs to ensure their data is kept safe when browsing the net. It increases protection from potential hackers and simultaneously ensures any information transferred isn’t compromised or stolen. Not many online gamblers know this, but VPNs could be rather useful to them as well.
This is because they can make use of them to gain access to sites they might otherwise not be able to do so from a certain jurisdiction. This raises the question of country restrictions and legalities because casinos block countries for specific reasons.
How does a VPN help in online casino gambling?
Many commercial websites these days enforce a feature called “geo-blocking.” When geo-blocking is enabled on a website, the operators can restrict users from specific locations. If a website has geo-blocked UK customers, anyone trying to visit the site from a UK internet address (IP address) will not be able to load the site.
Instead, you will probably get a message stating that you have been barred from visiting the website. This is feature is useful for business owners in myriad ways. Many eCommerce sites do not have services in certain countries. There is no point in allowing traffic from such locations.
Some regions or IP addresses are frequently used by online scammers and cybercriminals. Geo-blocking often serves as the first line of defence against such users. Online casinos are also a form of eCommerce business. They extensively use geo-blocking to prevent visitors from restricted territories.
A VPN allows you to evade this feature. To access a casino that bars visitors from your location, all you need to do is use VPN servers of a country that is not restricted by the casino. This way, you can visit the casino, even create a new account and start playing real money slots.
Is it legal to use VPNs?
There are two angles to this question. The first one is related to the legality of VPN services in your country. In most countries across the EU, the UK, and North America, VPN is a 100% legal service. As long as you don’t use it for any expressly illegal activities like drug trafficking or organized crime, you are in the clear.
However, if you reside in other countries that restrict internet connectivity, you may have a harder time getting legal VPN services. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and certain governments in the Middle East have banned VPNs outright, or put severe limitations on their usage.
The second angle is the legality of using a VPN at an online casino. Unfortunately, there is no single, clear-cut answer here. It all depends entirely on how and why you are using the VPN on an online casino.
When is it legal to use a VPN at an online casino?
Some online casinos explicitly warn players against using a VPN to access their services. They clearly state that if you are caught using a VPN, your account may be cancelled and your bankroll confiscated.
If an online casino does not have a clear restriction on VPNs, you can use the service without repercussions if the following is true:
· You are a resident of a location where online gambling is legal
· The online casino is licensed to serve your jurisdiction
· You are only using the VPN as an additional privacy tool
· You will provide accurate contact details to the casino
· You are not trying to create duplicate or fake accounts
Even if you are using a VPN in violation of any of the factors listed above, it is not a heinous crime. For instance, you can use a VPN to access an EU-licensed online casino as a resident of Hawaii or Utah (both states have prohibitions on online gambling).
You may even be able to register a fake account and start playing slots with real money. You won’t be able to do this at a UK casino, as they have KYC checks before allowing access to deposits and gambling.
The trouble will come when you try to withdraw your bankroll/winnings. Casinos are legally bound to conduct strict background checks on players before paying cash. If you created a fake account using a VPN, you will get caught, and you will say goodbye to your money.
Conclusion
Using a VPN is not 100% illegal at online casinos, as long as you comply with the basic terms and conditions. Unless you are extra paranoid about privacy, a VPN is not necessary to play at online casinos in your regulated jurisdiction.
Licensed casinos these days have pretty robust security and privacy features like SSL encryptions to protect your data and cash. If you really want to use a VPN, just follow common sense and your local laws, as well as the rules of the casino.
As long as you don’t live in a country with severe punishment against gambling, you can safely use a VPN to access offshore casinos and play slots/card games for free. Just remember that there is a high chance that you will lose any cash you deposit in a licensed casino when using a VPN in this way!