If you play on WINk you may have noticed that sometimes games you could previously play such as certain slots or Live games can no longer be played from your location. Certain slots may give you a notification such as this one:
Game Currently Unavailable Notification
The reason for this is simple, the world of online gambling is highly regulated with a wide variety of different legislation around the world. WINk has ambitions to disrupt online gambling globally and compete with mainstream sites but to do this it needs to comply with local laws and regulations.
At the time of writing WINk is the only e-gaming DApp with two gaming licenses: Curacao and Costa Rica and further licences to come.
While the location restrictions can be frustrating for players who just want to gamble, it's ultimately a great thing for WIN holders and a sign of WINk's commitment to real world growth. Luckily there is an option for people who want to play games restricted in their locations: Using a VPN.
What is a VPN
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, in short they enable you to access the internet via Servers located in other countries which has the advantage of making your computer appear to be in the same country as the server.
Are VPN's legal
For most parts of the world using a VPN is legal, that being said different countries around the world have widely different laws so it's worth checking before using one. Also while using a VPN may be legal if online gambling is illegal in your country using a VPN won't change that fact, you would be still breaking the law.
Advantages of using a VPN
There are a number of advantages to using a VPN.
- Accessing restriction based content on Netflix or certain games on WINk.
- Privacy: It won't make your internet searching completely private but it will help.
- Save Money: there's evidence that some airlines and hotel companies use location data to influence dynamic pricing and hike prices.
Disadvantages of using a VPN
- Can slow down your connection.
- Sites you're loggin into will think you're somewhere else and increase login requirements.
Why do I need a VPN to play on Live and not Dice
Dice is the on chain section of WINk it's permissionless and can be played by anyone as long as they have a compatible wallet that can connect to the tron blockchain. Live on the other hand is the Casino section of WINk. Live has multiple suppliers in multiple locations and in order to utilise the games that they offer it needs to comply with local laws.
VPN Locations for WINk
The list below is changing all the time so if any of the locations below don't work I would encourage you to ask a community member in the official WINk telegram group. As WINk gains more gaming licences the list of available locations should increase.
Hub88/Evolution gaming/NEtEnt slots are AVAILABLE: from the following countries:
Brunei, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Qatar, Thailand and Vietnam
Hub88/Evolution gaming/ NEtEnt slots are NOT! available from the following countries:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Guyana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Lao, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Democratig People’s Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, United Kingdom, USA, US Virgin Islands, Taiwan, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Sweden.
https://worldofwink.com/2020/04/01/playing-on-wink-with-a-vpn/