Online gaming has multiple benefits. You can play with friends from across the globe, relax after a long day’s work, and so much more. Then there are several types of games available. Man, we cannot begin to understand the magnitude of games available today. There are just so many to choose from. Then there are the platforms where we play our online games. You get consoles, mobile devices, and desktop devices. A question that’s been popping up a lot is whether you need a VPN for poker and other online games. Let’s unpack this and consider when to use a VPN for online gaming.
What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. This essentially means that a VPN offers you a private connection when using public networks. In other words, a VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks and protects specific identifying information about you. A VPN’s encryption takes place in real-time, making it much harder for your personal information to be stolen. If you want a VPN, the experts have tested and rated the best ones.
How does a VPN work?
In this modern age, it becomes extremely important to protect your data. This does not mean you are busy with illegal activities but rather choosing to protect what others see about you. So, a VPN helps you here. It encrypts your IP address by letting the network know to redirect your information through a server run by the VPN host. This way, your internet service provider, and basically anybody else, will not be able to access your information or even see what you’ve been Googling. Look at it this way, say you are playing online poker and are looking for an extra layer of protection from cyber criminals; using a VPN will help you here. There are multiple reasons to use a VPN, and if you don’t know what it is used for, some helpful articles are available on the web.
Now let’s look at some of the reasons to use a VPN for online gaming.
To protect yourself against swatting
There will always be something to protect yourself from, and it’s no different in gaming. There have been multiple cases worldwide where gamers stalk other gamers. This can occur for a range of reasons. But the most popular reason is that one gamer completely obliterated another gamer in a particular game. While there is absolutely no reason to stalk another person, it does happen. To avoid this, using a VPN for your online gaming sessions will mask your IP and protect your identity so no one can figure out who you are.
Play from any region
Certain games only allow you to play in the region you are in; this has to do with the servers the games are hosted on. Sometimes playing in your region can limit your progress and interaction with the game. Most gamers in Africa experience some form of limitation since the African region in games is often smaller and features far fewer players than North America. Here is where you can use a VPN.
But why are games geoblocked? Well, this often occurs when a game has only been released in limited countries with limited languages. And, when games are extremely popular, they need multiple servers to run them. With a VPN, they usually have servers in multiple parts of the world. All you need to do is find the correct VPN service provider where you can play on the server outside of your region, and voila, you now have access to a server in North America and play with gamers there.
Helps to reduce lagging
Depending on where you are in the world, your internet service provider might offer the best-uncapped fiber internet that’s super fast. However, when you play your favorite online game, it still lags now and again. A VPN can help to reduce and sometimes eliminate lag or long ping times.
But why does this happen? For long ping times, this happens because the data needs time to send and receive on your device. Depending on your internet speed, it can be quick or super slow. A VPN quite literally reduces lag and ping times by connecting to the closest possible server to the game’s server. Remember that the closer you are to a server of a game, the better for the overall gaming experience. Therefore, most gamers use VPNs, especially to play first-person online games where you cannot pause.
