PokerStars is a top online poker brand offering their services across the globe. Countless countries offer their citizens the opportunity to enjoy the cash gaming, tournament options, promotions and more offered by PokerStars. For PokerStars to be able to offer their services within a country, the brand must adhere to local government’s rules and regulations. The brand has taken great care to ensure full compliance when operating in specific countries to ensure no legal issues.
The brand has recently decided to withdraw services from Israel to ensure the company does not face charges for offering their online gaming services. Players in Israel were recently alerted via email and message online at the site to learn that PokerStars was withdrawing from the market. The ban began on the 27th of June and was decided upon due to the fact that Israel is considered a grey market.
A grey market is what is considered to be an area that does not exactly rule online poker as illegal gaming but also does not legalize the option. In Israel, most options of gambling are illegal. PokerStars has continued to remove their services from grey markets over the past few years to not face any ramifications for offering their services to players in particular regions. Amaya Gaming does not want any issues with their operations as they are trying to gain entry into the US. There are many customers to be had but any wrongdoing could hurt the company’s chances of offering services to citizens in the US.
TwoPlusTwo is a popular poker forum where players get together and discuss the goings on in the poker world. When this happened in Israel, players began to post the notice given by PokerStars to local players. The email began by stating that the management team regularly reviews operations on a market-by-market basis to look for business risks as well as commercial opportunities.
After a recent review of the Israel market, the brand decided to stop offering real money gaming top players who are physically located in Israel or those who have a registered address in the area. PokerStars apologized for any inconvenience that the decision may cause and invite players to continue enjoying the gaming options but with play money.
Player balances are secure and members of PokerStars in Israel have the option to withdraw funds at any time. Players can use a Visa card or WebMoney account for withdrawals as long as this method has been used for deposit within the last year. Wire transfers can also be used for deposits. Affected players will find PokerStars has set up a question and answer page to help with any issue.
Players who have outstanding tournament tickets or tournament money will find these items converted into cash. A $1 VIP Cash Rebate has been made available in the VIP Store and can be purchased for 100 StarsCoin. This will help those who want to convert StarsCoin into cash for withdrawal. VIP Step progress will be fully prorated to a value of the current Step credited if the amount is 250 StarsCoin or more.
PokerStars has made it as easily as possible to be able to cash in any remaining items for withdrawal as well as make withdrawals from the site. The brand will continue to assist players as they make their way to closing accounts at the online poker site.
Players in the United States will hopefully have access to online poker gaming via PokerStars as California and Pennsylvania have both moved forward with online poker legislation. PokerStars is already operational in the state of New Jersey.