Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
I have just read a really depressing story about a guy who won 60k playing the micro millions main event on Pokerstars.The player who is based in Germany then quit his job as a waiter with the plan to make money as a poker player. Unfortunately his bank decided that they were not going to play him as according to his bank he was in the district of Saxony where poker is illegal. I don't know the exacts reasons why this happened but I will put in a link,not the best link but most of the stories are on poker sites which I cannot use on here. link http://www.reddit.com/r/moneylaundering/comments/33l8kl...
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 5712
This is a fascinating story and it will be interesting to see if the is a happy ending to it. you can understand the players frustration, however the bank appear to be complying with the legislation in place in that locality, the locality where the player appears to have been when he won his money. Always read the rules!
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
well thats fcukin nonsense tbh. player won cash legally- who cares whether poker is illegal in saxony or not- he didn't win money in saxony, he won it online. if bank doesnt want to pay out it just has to return money back to players account and he can visit a place where it is legal to withdraw his winnings and do that. btw 60K doesnt seem that much to quit your job and expect to live from it, especially if we're talking bout germany... oh he has a plan to make money as a poker player... wonder why didn't he have such a plan before becoming a waiter
Joined: May '13
Location: Mauritius
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 2688
yeah sad for him that is why sometimes i pray i do not win big amount of money but small one which i could cashout and then use rather than big amount like millions then i have to go to hassle and there is a chance i do not win it and all, anyway good luck at the tables have fun and also keep improving and hopefully it will have a happy ending for this man, anyway peace out going to sleep and rest for the day, was a good day !!
Joined: Feb '14
Location: Tunisia
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 2135
that is really unfair so they get to keep the money or send it back to pokerstars and i am also surprised that he quits his job 60 K might not be that much to fund someone to be pro player i think he kind rushed into this thing the only thing he could do now is hire a lawyer and hope for the best
Joined: Jun '13
Location: Canada
Age: 80 (M)
Posts: 3700
If its true that where he is living poker is illegal he should have known that and he was not very smart to have these funds in his bank account. He could have ask pokerstars to ppay him by cheque and then go somewehere else or even moved and then cash it where its not illegal.
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Canada
Age: 64 (M)
Posts: 6036
....THAT is a TOTAL Bummer...!!! To think you have that kind of cash in your hands... ...then JUST like that,...it gets SNATched out of your dreams...
Thing is though,...if the rules are in place and you don't know what they are then,....I guess it's just a tough pill to swallow.... BUT,...I wouldn't give up on trying to retrieve it... Maybe just hire a lawyer on 'contingency' if possible... Doesn't cost you if you lose...!
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
First bad move was quitting withought getting his hand on the money. Who does that? And as suggested above, he can request a cash out from another place. I doubt that the site will refuse to pay him if he changes his location. And if you are planing to become a professional poker player, then you should move, to a country without any restrictions if you ask me.
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
Yes it is a strange situation for the player as surely he must have known poker was illegal but as Pokerstars seemed quite happy to have paid him it would appear that there must be many more players from the region who play and I doubt the banks have refused to pay everyone. If the money is to be returned to Pokerstars then surely he must be able to withdraw to skrill or neteller??
Joined: Jan '12
Location: Portugal
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 405
Its not a good thing to see, in a country with legal poker, but for what i have inderstood, the player lives in a place in the country here poker is not a legal thing, why? is strange, but if he can get maybe half of the prize is a very good reason to stay or in poker or start a good life, because quit from job is hard, but if he can take the money maybe he can go loking for a new job, and stay with the money for a while and see what will happen in his life. But we want that in the end all came in a happy story, and the guy collect the money, all, half, a litle, but recive what is for him.
Joined: Apr '11
Location: Romania
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 2432
German gambling law is incredibly complex and ambiguous, and the bank have chosen to interpret online gambling as illegal, and as such denied his winnings to be withdrawn. This case has led experts to call out to CJEU to make a ruling to protect German gamblers from things like this. The player has been sharing his attempts to get his winnings back in German forums.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
If pokerstars has sent his winning to his bank, then i doubt he will be able to get his hands on it after all. It would have been different if he had cancelled the transaction, back to his account. I wonder why not using online wallets in such cases.
...then JUST like that,...it gets SNATched out of your dreams... 
