Poker Fuse – The major operators of online gaming in the regulated New Jersey market are sending free wifi adapters to their customers to fix geolocation issues that are preventing some from playing. The small USB hardware devices strengthen wifi signals, and reportedly fixes problems in the vast majority of cases.
In order to comply with the regulations of New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, poker rooms must ensure that players are located within the state at all times to play for real money. Third party geolocation providers, like xyVerify and Locaid, gather data from wifi signals, as well as other sources, to triangulate the location of the player.
Although systems work in the majority of cases, weak signals can make verification difficult. In addition, operators will err on the side of caution to ensure no out-of-state play, leading to an increase in false negatives.
There are reports from players having difficulty verifying across all the major New Jersey operators; some frustrated players have reportedly been being booted out midway through tournaments. Though usually isolated cases, geolocation problems are by far the top complaint in customer support forums and discussion threads.
