how do they know I'm an american?

[glass_onion]

The crux of my question is, it obviously isn't illeagle for a canadian to play on PartyPoker while he vacations in Vegas or Vail, Colorado. Or to do neteller transactions in these locations to/from the sites.

As long as I've been playing I don't remember any site calling me or asking me for identification. For that matter, neither did neteller.

in this age of commerce and the internet being what it is, how do they know I'm an american? I understand IP addresses, but saying I bought a laptop and signed up for new Party Poker accounts as a canadian? My aunt lives in Ontario, about 90 minutes away from me. I could get a checking account too, the way I figure, since I would be more convenient for me even in real life to have one (when I travel).

I've heard more than a few stories about people having multiple identities online at these poker sites, and occasionally they get caught. That's a fact I'm ready to deal with.

Any advice?

[glass_onion]

bump - id really like an answer. Seems like a laptop (new IP address) and a canadian bank account, and we are all online at party poker. Someone tell me why it won't work.

[ozziepat]

So far as I know it will work (They won't know.) given the stated conditions:

Non-US address
Non-US bank account
Non-US ISP

[glass_onion]

Thanks, that's what I thought.

Here's an ingorant question then. What makes the ISP an american or non american? I.E, I buy hte computer at Best Buy in Ontario, play at the starbux there. Canadian ISP, legal. I vacation in vail, american ISP, illeagle?

What about when I play for a whole year in Ovid, MI with my comcast cable ISP?

[monkeyman]

[ QUOTE ]
how do they know I'm an american?

[/ QUOTE ]

if you tell them you have a canadian checking account, this might give it away.

[Freakin]

ISPs own certain ranges of IP addresses. The infomration is public through ARINs routing tables. You have to use a canadian VPN if you want your IP address to be canadian when you are in the US

[I_C_ALL]

That was answered...

[ QUOTE ]
ISPs own certain ranges of IP addresses. The infomration is public through ARINs routing tables. You have to use a canadian VPN if you want your IP address to be canadian when you are in the US

[/ QUOTE ]

Basically, in English(or Canadian [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) it means that your IP number(http://www.ipaddressworld.com/) is like your physical address online. It will tell you approximately where you are. If you are using a canadian Internet Service Provider or cable modem in Canada, you will have a Canadian IP address. From my understanding, this is how people/sites/gov't determine where you are.

Freakin is pretty knowlegable. You may want to check some previous posts [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[StellarWind]

[ QUOTE ]
The crux of my question is, it obviously isn't illeagle for a canadian to play on PartyPoker while he vacations in Vegas or Vail, Colorado. Or to do neteller transactions in these locations to/from the sites.

[/ QUOTE ]
Citizenship is irrelevant.

Physical location is what matters. Three people are in a house in Washington State playing online poker. "Albert" owns and lives in the house. "Ben" is visiting from California. "Claude" is a Frenchman on vacation from his home in Paris. All three are committing a felony.

Meanwhile "Doug" is also in the house. He's not playing but he's online at several U.S.-friendly poker sites making deposits from his U.S. bank account. Tomorrow Doug is going on vacation to Canada where he will play online poker at all these sites. Doug has not violated any U.S. law and neither have the sites that accepted his depoits. The UIGEA does not apply because the deposits are not being used to violate state or Federal gambling laws.

In practice gaming sites are banning U.S. residents and also blocking U.S. IP addresses. By this means they are avoiding customers likely to gamble from the U.S. and also trying to prevent customers from gambling while in the U.S.

[glass_onion]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The crux of my question is, it obviously isn't illeagle for a canadian to play on PartyPoker while he vacations in Vegas or Vail, Colorado. Or to do neteller transactions in these locations to/from the sites.

[/ QUOTE ]
Citizenship is irrelevant.

Physical location is what matters. Three people are in a house in Washington State playing online poker. "Albert" owns and lives in the house. "Ben" is visiting from California. "Claude" is a Frenchman on vacation from his home in Paris. All three are committing a felony.

Meanwhile "Doug" is also in the house. He's not playing but he's online at several U.S.-friendly poker sites making deposits from his U.S. bank account. Tomorrow Doug is going on vacation to Canada where he will play online poker at all these sites. Doug has not violated any U.S. law and neither have the sites that accepted his depoits. The UIGEA does not apply because the deposits are not being used to violate state or Federal gambling laws.

In practice gaming sites are banning U.S. residents and also blocking U.S. IP addresses. By this means they are avoiding customers likely to gamble from the U.S. and also trying to prevent customers from gambling while in the U.S.

[/ QUOTE ]


Thanks very much, this is informative. Still, being ignorant, I need a little clarification.

I wasn't aware that playing online poker by itself was a felony (assuming UB, bodog, FT, PS). Did you mean if they were playing on US-banned sites, or did I miss poker being a felony?

Secondly, my aunt in Ontario plays online poker for play money. Lets say she opened an online account at neteller and signed up at party poker. She's playing on her sony laptop at starbux in ontario. Legal, and party poker works. She crosses the bridge to Detroit, goes to the local starbux. Now its a different IP address, does party immeadiately recognize this and the site not load? It seems to me that once you get the software installed on your harddrive it would work basically anywhere. Correct me if not.

[Billman]

[ QUOTE ]

I wasn't aware that playing online poker by itself was a felony (assuming UB, bodog, FT, PS). Did you mean if they were playing on US-banned sites, or did I miss poker being a felony?

Secondly, my aunt in Ontario plays online poker for play money. Lets say she opened an online account at neteller and signed up at party poker. She's playing on her sony laptop at starbux in ontario. Legal, and party poker works. She crosses the bridge to Detroit, goes to the local starbux. Now its a different IP address, does party immeadiately recognize this and the site not load? It seems to me that once you get the software installed on your harddrive it would work basically anywhere. Correct me if not.

[/ QUOTE ]

a) Online poker is a felony in Washington state. They passed a specific law.

b) Your aunt would not be able to play from Detroit. The software would allow her to log in but when she attempted to sit down at anything other than a play money table she would be informed that the site does not allow real money wagering by us residents.