Word I have is that MGS is blocking Spanish IPs as of yesterday. The operators are only reacting to this move, so it's unfair to beat them up for it. I'm sure it's a surprise to them just like it is for you.
Unless the operator has a license from the Spanish regulator, it's adios amigos.
Why didn't MGS give operators advance warning of this implementation. It has made all MGS operators look bad as far as the Spanish player is concerned, and show the rest of us how little regard MGS have for their CUSTOMERS!
MGS knew damn well this was in the works, and I doubt very much that they had their "hand forced" into making a decision like this at no notice. It would have taken some time to set up a block list covering Spanish IPs, and make it flexible enough to cater for those MGS casinos that have, or end up getting, a Spanish license.
It is poor that players have to second guess when such moves are going to happen because the software provider wants absolute secrecy until the plug is pulled. Such moves are becoming widespread, and this is NOT merely an issue for the Spanish player to "suck up", it will end up affecting many of us in due course as our countries move towards a tighter regulatory framework.
As players, we can no longer trust MGS and their operators to give us reasonable notice, which leaves us with two options. Carry on playing till the bitter end, or take it upon ourselves to uninstall, or even close our accounts, when it appears a date for change has been set. This will hurt operators pretty severely, as they will lose players long before they really have to. Had Spanish players followed this strategy, they would have quit long ago, and operators would not have had the benefit of their patronage at all this year.
MGS seem to have used an arbitrary date, neither the original nor the new implementation date set by the Spanish government. Even if players were watching developments, and planning to quit of their own accord just before the date set, they would have been caught out yesterday.
If MGS carry on with this policy, they will end up shutting down virtually every country in the world, even the UK. Long before this, they will see another mass exodus of operators who do not like to have their players arbitrarily shout out like this with them having to take the blame. Operators bailed out of MGS when the move to level 11 was announced, and those that trusted MGS and stayed with level 11 got burned along with their players when level 11 lost their nerve and pulled out almost overnight.
Operators are now left with the chaos of sorting out half finished promotions, MPV tournaments, etc, which their Spanish players took part in. This is not simply a matter of sending players their cash balances, as many will want compensation for being arbitrarily thrown out mid way through contests. It will be even worse if this has happened to Spanish poker players using the MGS poker network who were in the middle of "big money" tournaments.
How can a company such as MGS handle things so badly