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MAC addresses aren't even truly tracked by the ISP, because the MAC address of the individual's NIC card is overwritten with the MAC address of the first routing device on the link, and subsequently overwritten each step of the way.
In other words, the information is -there-, but only to the last hop on the path, which can potentially change with each packet sent in TCP/IP protocol. It should conceivably remain static to the last location with UDP, but UDP connection paths are only guaranteed for the duration of the connection - so someone could simply reconnect to the game and (very likely) secure a new MAC address.
The sad fact is, TCP/IP was never written to do more than pass information along a path - its conceivers never accounted for the possibility that morons and losers would eventually pervade the (then) geek-domain of the web.
My solution, after discovering the futility of tracking the MAC, is to ban the ISP. If someone from that ISP wants to connect to the game, they must have the ISP contact me and assure me that they will be proactive with dealing with abusers; if they do not give that assurance, their ISP remains banned.
A possible solution is to write your own client, which then can query either a)the MAC address of the NIC card on the users computer or b)the CPU ID#. MAC addresses can be spoofed, but the user who knows how to do this also likely is mature enough to not act up. If they are not, then you aren't going to find any simple way to prevent them from accessing your game, either.
I've also found that a single-strike approach is worthwhile - if someone breaks the rules, remove them from the game. It's much simpler than dealing with punishments and tracking who has done what. If they violate your rules, remove them from the game. Harsh? Probably. But it's your game, so your rules. If they don't like it, they don't need to connect.
--Bert
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