Online Poker Players? Please opine.

[HamesJahn 0]

So I am a full time resident in Costa Rica and would like to get back to playing some online poker. Since April 15, all US Credit/debit cards are pretty much blocked from online sites. I have a CR bank account, but it (and my Visa Debit card) are in the name of an SA. When I try to deposit money into my poker account (PokerStars) I am told that it has to be a credit/debit card linked to an individual and not a corporation.

 

So my question is...If any of your play online poker, what is the best way to fund your account?

[eleanorcr 0]

Go to the bank, open another account and get a card in your name. Kind of a good way to control your spending, too, since it can be your "poker" account.

[HamesJahn 0]

You say that as if we are in a place where bank accounts are easy to open.

 

While that is the obvious choice i was more looking for advice on which banks will permit gambling deposits. Even when it was "semilegal" in the states, man banks blocked their clients from doing so.

[eleanorcr 0]

Yes, I say that as if we are in a place where bank accounts are easy to open.

 

If you are a "full-time resident" with some kind of legal resident status, it's not that hard. Go to your bank and ask them what you need to do to open an account.

 

If you think about it, why would an on-line poker site allow someone to play on-line poker with the "company assets?" Perhaps having your bank account in the name of a corporation is a convenience for you rather than a company actually doing business, but look at it from the other angle.

 

Not what you want to hear, I am sure. But when you ask a question on a forum, you can expect to get all kinds of answers.

[Shea 0]

I have had a bank account ever since I first moved here. It is in my name, not a corporation. There must be a way to do this because I did it. Check around with various banks to find one that will allow you to have a personal account. Mine is at Banco Nacional. Take utility bills, rent receipts or something to prove you own property, and whatever else you can provide to prove you are a long-standing resident of CR. Maybe that will help. Take a Tico friend with you. Have someone with good reputation/standing in the community write a letter of referral for you. I have heard that works.

 

If you are a member of ARCR they will assist you in opening an account at BN.

 

When you say U.S. credit/debit carda are blocked from online sites, I assume you mean only gambling sites. True or not? I use my cards all the time online, but not for gambling.

 

One more thing: when you open your account, ask for an international debit card so you can use it out of this country. No additional charges for this but it might come in handy down the line.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Shea

[HamesJahn 0]

eleanorcr - It is not at all uncommon for gaming site to accept corporate/partnership money. My gaming account is in the name of a US LLC. It's just not the same name as my CR SA. ( I feel like im the Army with all the acronyms.)

 

I understand how to open a personal bank account...that is not the problem. I am asking where. Which banks allow you to use their debit cards for gaming purposes? For instance, before April 15th, you couldnt make deposits with a BofA card but you could with a Schwab debit card.

[eleanorcr 0]

This is what you asked:

 

"....So I am a full time resident in Costa Rica and would like to get back to playing some online poker. Since April 15, all US Credit/debit cards are pretty much blocked from online sites. I have a CR bank account, but it (and my Visa Debit card) are in the name of an SA. When I try to deposit money into my poker account (PokerStars) I am told that it has to be a credit/debit card linked to an individual and not a corporation.

 

So my question is...If any of your play online poker, what is the best way to fund your account?... "

 

I answered with a recommendation to just open a personal bank account in Costa Rica which would give you what you are looking for. Why has this now gotten so complicated with acronyms and Charles Schwab?

[MacFloam 0]

Another very simple option is for you to give money to someone else and have them transfer funds to your account. The Herradura poker room used to do this for players (with a 5% transfer fee), and I've used another individual who only charges 3% (but I forget his contact info). The Herradura room is no longer in operation, but they've just moved to the San Jose Palacio, and I expect that they still do transfers. Both sources will also let you cash out your accounts (again for a fee).

 

The first problem with going this route is that you will need to fund one of the major rooms (I know they'll fund Poker Stars, but I'm not sure about any others). They probably used to fund Full Tilt, but that site is down as far as I know.

 

The second problem is that you will not get the benefits from making a deposit (i.e. deposit bonuses) unless you are dealing with an official Transfer Affiliate, and I doubt that either of these options are official.

 

A third potential problem occurs due the sites' poor systems for identifying cheaters - if you log onto your account using the IP address as a person with a flagged account, your account will also get flagged (and thus locked). There are 2 ways around this problem: (1) you can either validate your account by sending the site a copy of your passport and a billing address, or (2) you can make sure you don't log on using their IP address by either transferring the money from home before going to pick it up (for cashouts), or waiting until you get home to verify the transaction (for funding).

 

If you are using a validated account, then I would still recommend that you change your password before making the transaction, and then again as soon as you get home. Although the guys at the Palacio probably won't steal your account info (since they want the repeat business), there was 1 incident where a group of players stole a player's info and then drained his account.

 

If you choose to fund your account at the Palacio, you may be able to get them to waive the fee if you agree to play in the live games that night.

[Lunja 0]

I play online poker with my CR debit bank card, no problems.