GTA 5 Diamond Casino and Resort | Why You Can’t Play
If you were waiting in hot anticipation for the new GTA 5 Diamond Casino and Resort update and have found you cannot play the casino games, you likely live in a country that has banned gambling. Spin Palace, your premier online casino, has the scoop on the story.
The Diamond Casino and Resort opened its doors to the virtual public on July 23rd, 2019, nearly six years after the game first hit the market in 2013. Marketed as “living the life of opulence,” this new casino has opened in the city of Los Santos, a major city in Grand Theft Auto (GTA). Users can enter the casino with one of two memberships, standard and VIP. The standard membership is cheaper and comes with a parking garage, valet parking, champagne service, aircraft concierge, and limousine service. If you decide to spring for the most expensive VIP membership, you receive all the aforementioned benefits, along with access to the VIP lounge, penthouses, and high limit tables.
The Controversy of Playing the Tables
Playing the tables at the Diamond Casino and Resort is where many gamers around the world are running into trouble. People in 50 different countries have found they are banned when they try to the play the casino games. They can enter the casino and walk around, but games are off limits.
This ban is the result of gambling laws within each country. Even though “fake money” is technically used to play the games and winnings are converted into “chips” and not real money, real money is used to buy these chips.
Although the lines seem a bit hazy, gamers who live in countries where gambling is illegal have been blocked in this part of GTA 5.
Once in GTA Online, players buy in-game “dollars” with real currency, converting these virtual dollars into gambling chips. The in-game currency can also be used to purchase cars, weapons, and cosmetic items. Even though you don’t technically win more money from the gambling, Rockstar Games (creators of GTA) have found themselves amid an intense debate as to whether this actually constitutes gambling. However, since you buy the fake money with real money and then play casino games, it is closely akin to gambling because the game assigns a real-money value to the fake money.
Do You Live in One of the Banned Countries?
If you already play GTA 5 and have not been able to access all the casino content, chances are you live in a country that bans gambling and, by extension, virtual gambling. However, if you have been wanting to purchase the game, especially for the casino access, but are not sure if you would be blocked, Reddit has been compiling a list of banned countries.
While major markets like the United States, Western Europe, and Japan are not on the list, other major countries and regions are. Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, the Bahamas, China, Luxembourg, North Korea, South Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan are just a few of the many flagged.
How to Still Enjoy the Updates without Gambling
You’re banned from the gambling, but can you still cash in on the updates? Fortunately, GTA Online has made it possible to still experience the posh, glitzy, slightly criminal fun that comes with the GTA territory. Some people have discovered a VPN (virtual private network) as a workaround to still gamble in banned countries, but this loophole is risky, as participating in the gambling and table games is still illegal. If you tried to use the VPN route, you could get in trouble with both Rockstar and your country.
Yet, you can still use those game dollars to purchase penthouses, cars, and weapons. And you can play more than 70 missions included with the update, along with other perks. We suggest using the membership you have, walk into the casino and look around, indulging in the slick and ultra-wealthy life of GTA 5.
