Playing Privileges Revoked - PokerStars

[featherpost]

Hello, was hoping I could get some advice. I recently started playing poker on pokerstars. All was going fine, but after about 3 weeks of playing I got a message pop up that said my account was being looked at and to expect an email. It also meant I was unable to play any further games on PokerStars until the issue was resolved. I checked my emails and had received a message saying they were concerned with how long I’d been playing and that they were imposing a mandatory 7 day cool down where I’d be unable to play. That time has now passed and I emailed them to ask about playing again. They sent me 6 questions about responsible gaming which I’ve responded to, but I haven’t heard anything back. Has anyone had this before? If so how long until my account is back and I’m able to play again? I can log in to my account it just won’t let me play any games. Thanks, happy to provide further info if necessary. Worth noting I’ve deposited approx $1,200 and withdrawn approx $700 since opening my account.

 

[NotADonk]

Hello, was hoping I could get some advice. I recently started playing poker on PokerStars. All was going fine, but after about 3 weeks of playing I got a message pop up that said my account was being looked at and to expect an email. It also meant I was unable to play any further games on PokerStars until the issue was resolved. I checked my emails and had received a message saying they were concerned with how long I’d been playing and that they were imposing a mandatory 7 day cool down where I’d be unable to play. That time has now passed and I emailed them to ask about playing again. They sent me 6 questions about responsible gaming which I’ve responded to, but I haven’t heard anything back. Has anyone had this before? If so how long until my account is back and I’m able to play again? I can log in to my account it just won’t let me play any games. Thanks, happy to provide further info if necessary. Worth noting I’ve deposited approx $1,200 and withdrawn approx $700 since opening my account.

Hi. Sorry that I can't really help, but I am curious how much you were playing to trigger this.

 

[featherpost]

Hi. Sorry that I can't really help, but I am curious how much you were playing to trigger this.

So initially not much, couple of hours a day at most, then I entered a few WCOOP tournaments and had some annual leave so played some long sessions (approx 7 or 8 hours) for 3 days straight. That’s when I got the message.

 

[fundiver199]

So initially not much, couple of hours a day at most, then I entered a few WCOOP tournaments and had some annual leave so played some long sessions (approx 7 or 8 hours) for 3 days straight. That’s when I got the message.

This sound strange, because that is certainly nothing unusual. Could it be, that you forgot to log out in between sessions, so that they think, you were playing much longer? I have played there for many years and during weekends and holidays regularly up to say 12 hours per day, and I have never had such a problem. I hope, its soon resolved.

 

[featherpost]

was

This sound strange, because that is certainly nothing unusual. Could it be, that you forgot to log out in between sessions, so that they think, you were playing much longer? I have played there for many years and during weekends and holidays regularly up to say 12 hours per day, and I have never had such a problem. I hope, it’s soon resolved.

yeah that’s what I thought. I don’t log out to be honest when I’m done, but only play on my mobile and it auto logs out after 30 mins. As an FYI this is the full email I received from them;

“Greetings from the Safer Gambling Team at PokerStars!

We hope you are well!

During a routine review, we noticed that the time you've spent with us recently is higher than average. Over the past week, you've played a significant number of hours, with some sessions being particularly long.

While we hope you enjoy our games, we thought it prudent to advise you of this and make sure you balance gambling with other activities.

As such, we suggest taking a break from our site and have imposed a compulsory cool-off period of 7 days. Contact us after 07/Oct/2025, and we'll review your account status.

For more information on all our Responsible Gaming features, visit:
https://pokerstars.uk/about/responsible-gaming/

Any questions? Just let us know.”

 

[wushibala]

I’ve been playing for over 10 years and it’s the first time I’ve heard of something like this. They say PokerStars support on Twitter is pretty fast — try reaching out to them there, they usually respond quickly to customer requests.

 

[thedarkman]

Since when has it been a privilege to lose money?

 

[fundiver199]

Maybe its country specific, since the support and responsible gambling rules likely is? But it still seem pretty ridiculous to me. If "spending more time than average" is a red flag, then they should red flag every single "for profit player" and especially full time professionals. And how can it ever be noteworthy to play for 7-8 hours, when some of their tournaments including the WCOOP events last this long if not even longer? So perhaps its combined with some others factors, that the email does not state, because its just a general system generated mail? Anyways I hope, it will soon be resolved, and please report back, how it goes

 

[Goggelheimer]

This sound strange, because that is certainly nothing unusual. Could it be, that you forgot to log out in between sessions, so that they think, you were playing much longer? I have played there for many years and during weekends and holidays regularly up to say 12 hours per day, and I have never had such a problem. I hope, its soon resolved.

This is strange so they must flag their own PokerStars Pros (Spraggy and his wife Marle) too.
They play a lot of tournaments that are lasting long.

 

[featherpost]

Maybe its country specific, since the support and responsible gambling rules likely is? But it still seem pretty ridiculous to me. If "spending more time than average" is a red flag, then they should red flag every single "for profit player" and especially full time professionals. And how can it ever be noteworthy to play for 7-8 hours, when some of their tournaments including the WCOOP events last this long if not even longer? So perhaps its combined with some others factors, that the email does not state, because its just a general system generated mail? Anyways I hope, it will soon be resolved, and please report back, how it goes

I’m based in the UK, and agree it seems quite excessive. I was also going to point out they have ambassadors streaming for hours every day and they don’t seem to be subject to these rules. I’ll be sure to post when I hear back from them, but it’s been 2 and half days since their last message, so not holding out much hope at the moment

 

[Sunz of Beaches]

Maybe its country specific, since the support and responsible gambling rules likely is? But it still seem pretty ridiculous to me. If "spending more time than average" is a red flag, then they should red flag every single "for profit player" and especially full time professionals. And how can it ever be noteworthy to play for 7-8 hours, when some of their tournaments including the WCOOP events last this long if not even longer? So perhaps its combined with some others factors, that the email does not state, because its just a general system generated mail? Anyways I hope, it will soon be resolved, and please report back, how it goes

Gambling in the UK is heavily regulated and this case for sure has something to do with their regulations in regard of responsible gambling.

But in this case, as described by OP, its highly doubtful that any action from Stars was needed.

Probably a flaw in their detection system or someone new or completely clueless in their customer service thought its a case.

 

[Poker Orifice]

So initially not much, couple of hours a day at most, then I entered a few WCOOP tournaments and had some annual leave so played some long sessions (approx 7 or 8 hours) for 3 days straight. That’s when I got the message.

I thought you were going to say something like "Well I played for around 50 hours straight on the weekend and then again pretty much non-stop (except for meals & bathroom breaks) from Tues. til' Friday."

It would've been impossible to play & win (or even go halfway deep) in almost any of the WCOOP Events they were holding at that time as many were 2-day events (with the Main Event being 4days). It's a good thing you weren't deep in Day 3 of the Main when this happened, LOL.

And, if you'd known this 'in advance' a customer wouldn't even enter a single WCOOP event that they were running because doing so (& doing good in one) would guarantee you'd have been removed from the site. Honestly this is the stupidest thing ever imo.

I am curious about what the 6 questions were.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Could it be, that you forgot to log out in between sessions, so that they think, you were playing much longer?

Not sure if this is different from country to country... but it's not possible to stay logged in on Stars these days. (years ago you could). Stay inactive for a period and it bumps you off.

 

[fundiver199]

Stay inactive for a period and it bumps you off.

True but at least for me thats only after several hours. Yesterday I was inactive for 3 hours without being bumped.

 

[Tero]

...only after several hours. Yesterday I was inactive for 3 hours without being bumped.

I am kicked out maybe after 30-45 minutes

 

[fundiver199]

or someone new or completely clueless in their customer service thought its a case.

Probably someone who dont even know, what a poker tournament is. If someone spends 7-8 hours per day in the casino, then maybe that is actually a bit excessive, and a cool-down would be appropriate, and then this clueless person thinks, its the same, if someone spend 7-8 hours playing poker tournaments.

 

[Poker Orifice]

I am kicked out maybe after 30-45 minutes

30 for me

 

[featherpost]

I thought you were going to say something like "Well I played for around 50 hours straight on the weekend and then again pretty much non-stop (except for meals & bathroom breaks) from Tues. til' Friday."

It would've been impossible to play & win (or even go halfway deep) in almost any of the WCOOP Events they were holding at that time as many were 2-day events (with the Main Event being 4days). It's a good thing you weren't deep in Day 3 of the Main when this happened, LOL.

And, if you'd known this 'in advance' a customer wouldn't even enter a single WCOOP event that they were running because doing so (& doing good in one) would guarantee you'd have been removed from the site. Honestly this is the stupidest thing ever imo.

I am curious about what the 6 questions were.

Yeah it’s ridiculous, when you look at the length of some of the tournaments, particularly the big WCOOP events.

The email response I got after the the 7 day cooling off period is below;

“Thank you for reaching out

As a Socially Responsible Operator (SRO), we want to ensure that your return to our games is fun, but more over safe.

Before we proceed, we'd like to ask you to answer these questions in your reply:

1. Have you noticed any changes in how much time or money you spend on our platform?
2. What usually motivates you to start playing, and how do you decide when to stop?
3. How do you feel after a long playing session, whether you win or lose?
4. How has your gaming activity affected other areas of your life, like work, relationships or finances?
5. What strategies or habits do you use to manage your gaming time and spending?
6. How are you feeling when you are trying to reduce or stop gambling?

For more information on how to use our self-exclusion feature, setting deposit, table and betting limits, please visit our Responsible Gaming page at:
www.pokerstars.uk/about/responsible-gaming/.
We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to hearing back from you.”

 

[featherpost]

Hello all,

Thanks for your responses. Just a quick update, I’ve still not heard back from PokerStars since they asked me the 6 questions (posted above) on Wednesday morning. I checked with the live chat and they said that I’ll unlikely get a response over the weekend, so guess I’ll have to wait until at least Monday now. This means my compulsory 7 day cooldown is now turning into a 14 day cooldown. It’s really frustrating, as they’re not communicating anything with me.

Will update you when I have a further update and will try and answer any questions as and when I see them. Thanks

 

[KrazyKoo]

Just keep waiting and then continue playing after you get the green light. The responsibility gaming stuff is usually very serious, it's important not to get provoked even if Stars is not doing good job.

 

[Goggelheimer]

Hello all,

Thanks for your responses. Just a quick update, I’ve still not heard back from PokerStars since they asked me the 6 questions (posted above) on Wednesday morning. I checked with the live chat and they said that I’ll unlikely get a response over the weekend, so guess I’ll have to wait until at least Monday now. This means my compulsory 7 day cooldown is now turning into a 14 day cooldown. It’s really frustrating, as they’re not communicating anything with me.

Will update you when I have a further update and will try and answer any questions as and when I see them. Thanks

Be patient, this is just another test.
The time span and the form of your replies (e-mail, chat) and how often you react on this may be taken into their consideration of blocking you totally for being a gamble addiction victim.

 

[fundiver199]

The time span and the form of your replies (e-mail, chat) and how often you react on this may be taken into their consideration of blocking you totally for being a gamble addiction victim.

I agree. OP should definitely not bombard them and make it look like, he is desperate to get back to the tables. And as much as I like PokerStars, I also have to say, that if a poker site did this to me, I would probably just conclude, they dont want my business, withdraw my funds and find somewhere else to play. Nearly all sites are available to someone living in the UK, so its not like, PokerStars is his only choise.

 

[moraeskvmi]

Very strange, I've seen reports of accounts being blocked for other reasons, but I've never seen one for playing. And they really take a long time to resolve it!!!

 

[hardongear]

Sorry no help here OP even though Pokerstars has been my main site for 20+ years now...

6-8 hours sessions is really nothing when you consider most MTT's run longer then 6-8 hours even if it is a lot more than the OP avg playing time which OP admits he's played longer then his avg time....due having some extra time or just having extra time off. Those still aren't long sessions unless it triggers something to do with his Country and responsible gambling laws. Canadian here and 20+ year player here and I've sure as hell played a lot longer sessions in the past. 12, 14 and 16 hours use to be quite common for me when I played more. had the time and felt like. Never received any emails from Pokerstars about my playing time length. Hell I had a few days where I challenged myself to do 24 straight hours for sessions and got no emails and nothing.

As much as I love Pokerstars if any site ever did this to me I'd assume they didn't want my business anymore. So I'd login withdraw every dime, un-install the software and never comeback ever. Which sadly would likely end me playing online poker cause the only site I currently play some poker at besides Pokerstars doesn't have a current/up to date licensed and tested RNG. If it did I'd likely play more there as the player pool is the biggest in online poker now and likely as soft as it just for competition to due size and player traffic.

Hope you get this sorted out and get back playing soon on Pokerstars OP.

Online poker sure is in pretty shit shape overall now days and seemingly only getting worse day by day.

Cheers!!!

 

[machinm19]

I hope this is not the start of a trend. If you go deep in a tournament it can take 6-7 hours what are you supposed to do? Quit in first place with 5 people left because it’s taking a long time? Ridiculous situation OP is facing.

Problem gamblers have a lot to answer for in the uk with their podcasts and campaigns it affects the entire gaming ecosystem.

We are responsible adults liable for everything we do we should be allowed to pursue our happiness whatever that may be.