by Brad Smallbone
The video game industry has exploded in reach and revenue over the past decade. Once a niche hobby, gaming grew into a dominant form of entertainment across age groups, with 2.9 billion players and nearly $200 billion in revenue in 2025 (Newzoo).
Problem of Restricted Access
With such impressive growth, one would expect the industry to be easily accessible to anyone interested in gaming. However, that is often not the case due to geographic restrictions put in place by publishers, developers and regional laws. These restrictions dictate which games and services Spin a Go Casino players can access based on their physical location.
Geographic restrictions typically take two forms:
- IP blocking – Games/services blocked in certain countries or regions
- Ping/latency requirements – Players must be located close to servers to maintain “playable” pings
These limitations can seriously impact players stuck in excluded or remote regions. Their gaming experience suffers from frequent lag, disconnects and lack of access to desired content.
| Type | Impact | Example |
| IP Blocking | Unable to play desired games/platforms | U.S. players can’t access Japan-exclusive mobile games |
| High Ping Times | Frequent latency, lag, disconnects | Competitive FPS games unplayable above 100 ms ping |
| Limited Server Locations | Forced to connect to distant servers | Australian players routed to U.S. or EU servers |
Ping Problem
One of the biggest issues facing players in remote regions is debilitating ping times and latency. Ping (measured in milliseconds) refers to the time it takes data to transfer between a player’s device and the game server. The higher the ping, the longer this response time.
Most competitive online games require relatively low pings to be playable. Fast-paced genres like first-person shooters often set a max ping/latency threshold around 50-100 ms. Above that range, players suffer from lag, rubberbanding and other performance issues.
However geographic restrictions often force players to connect to servers much farther away:
- Players in Australia/New Zealand commonly routed to North American or European servers 1000+ miles away
- Gamers in parts of South America, Asia and Africa deal with similar distance issues
- Ping times frequently end up over 150-200ms in these regions
At such high pings, many popular competitive games become essentially unplayable.
Impact on Player Experience
These geographic limitations can seriously degrade gaming experiences in restricted regions. Without quality access, players miss out on social connections, competitive opportunities and shared cultural experiences.
Isolation and FOMO
Interconnected communities drive multiplayer games. When players can’t actively participate due to technical limitations, they miss out on social engagement. They also experience FOMO (fear of missing out) from being excluded from meaningful gaming experiences.
Australian Fortnite streamer Loserfruit expressed this frustration in 2022:
“We just want to be able to play the game at the capacity that other people around the world can play the game…”
Without quality access, players feel isolated and left behind by their peers abroad.
Competitive Disadvantage
Ping is critical for competitive gaming, putting restricted players at an immediate disadvantage. A few added milliseconds might seem minor but it impacts aiming precision, reaction times and movement responsiveness.
High pings essentially handicap players from showcasing their true talent and earning income through competitive circuits. This leads to lower engagement and motivation over time.
Toxicity and Stereotypes
The isolation and skill gap also breeds an unhealthy culture of toxicity and prejudice. Restricted players are often stereotyped as inferior teammates.
Phrases like “200 ping noob” reflect this damaging mindset. It stems directly from the technical limitations these players face through no fault of their own.
Progress Still Too Slow
Restricted players have continually raised this issue over the past decade. While companies slowly add more regional servers and infrastructure, it fails to match audience growth in excluded markets.
In 2022, the Middle East finally received regional servers for League of Legends after years of fan advocacy. But players quickly slammed the effort as “too little too late” with extremely limited capacity.
Similar outcry persists across Africa, South Asia and Oceania seeking the same opportunity to enjoy gaming without restrictions.
Geographic limitations continue hampering the gaming community through technical barriers and prejudice. With gaming now a global phenomenon in 2025, it’s well past time to tear down these borders. Companies must invest to meet demand wherever passionate fans and talent exist.
The health of gaming depends on inclusive environments where all players can compete and connect on even ground. Only then can the full social and competitive potential be achieved.
Image by Felix Lichtenfeld from Pixabay
