Entraction Poker Network Bans Canadian Players
The Entraction Network, owned by gambling industry giants, International Game Technology (IGT), has announced that Canada is on its new list of 'excluded' countries.
The list will come into effect on September 29th, and will mean that players from five countries, namely Israel, Norway, Russia, Turkey and Canada, will not be allowed on Entraction poker sites, from that date forward.
This will affect players with accounts at poker sites such as Betsson Poker, Victor Chandler Poker and NoIQ Poker.
The news came via an announcement by Donk.com which received information from its affiliates. In a statement, the domain wrote: "We have been informed by one of our partner sites that the Entarction network will block players....All our players from either one of these countries will NOT be able to continue on their existing deals."
Entraction, like many other online gaming companies, hope to get into the US gambling market when it becomes regulated on a federal level. If the group has a history of accepting wagers from players in countries where there are clear laws against online gambling and money transfer to internet gaming sites, such as there are in Israel, Norway, Russia and Turkey, this may not look good on their track record and could impede their attempts to enter the US market.
However, it is not sure why Canada has been included on this list, as there are no laws of this nature governing gambling in the country.
Other Companies Withdraw from Canada
In the past, other gambling companies have withdrawn from the Canadian market, including Paddy Power Poker, Boss Media and Neteller, which removed itself following the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the US in 2006.
Players on poker forums didn't receive the latest news gracefully. One player wrote: "This sucks. I play exclusively on Entraction now and this is gonna result in a tougher player pool for sure."
Another wrote: "Literally made an account and deposited two hours ago and I'm from Canada. WTF?"
The move to block Canadian players certainly narrows the market slightly for Canadians, but there are still lots of great online poker networks to choose from.
