When the United States banned online poker in 2011, thousands of US poker players were banned from making a living in the process. This is because a large percentage of US poker players have made online poker their professional career. These poker players depend on their winnings as it is their major source of income and often their only source of income.
Since online poker was banned in the United States, many of these poker players decided to shift residence and go to a country where online poker was legal. Players packed up and decided to move to places like Thailand, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Peru. Some players decided to stay close to home and hence shifted residence to Canada and Mexico. They have continued to play online poker from these locations and have faced no restrictions since they no longer reside in the United States.
However, 888 Poker has decided to be a lot stricter with its policies and is now terminating membership of all U.S poker players, irrespective of their current country of residence. U.S. players have posted on forums that 888 Poker has terminated their memberships and they are no longer able to login to the 888 Poker website. These players have been intimated that they are no longer eligible to play at 888 Poker and have also been cautioned to not open any new accounts with 888 affiliated online gambling websites. Players were warned that any such attempts will result in their accounts being immediately terminated.
888 Poker also released a how to guide informing players of the process they must follow in order to withdraw their remaining balances and close all accounts with 888 poker. This latest move from 888 Poker has come as a shock to non resident based U.S players who feel that they have been dealt another unfair hand.
A 888 rep posted a comment on the TwoPlusTwo poker forum which unofficially confirmed that the company had indeed started contacting U.S. based players and informing them of their decision to suspend their accounts. The post read
We continuously monitor all 888 Poker accounts and activities and take steps accordingly. In the event you have received this email that you feel is an error, then please contact the support team and you will be answered in due course.
