Neteller News and the US Ban

Okie dokie Ladies and Gents. This doesn't sound good at all. Take a Gander at this.

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2006/1...bling-bill.htm

Bah you beat me to it.

I've written a blog post about it here: http://www.cardschat.com/blog/10/19/...nt-post-uigea/

Well, I for one think it is sad. However...

I'm not a lawyer, but based on my understanding of the wording, what is forbidden are US institutions from sending money to and receiving money from gambling sites. If that is accurate, then what should come out of NeTeller's "further review" is that they are not a gambling site. They are an off-shore "financial institution" (if you will). They legally do business with third parties are are both gambling and non-gambling sites. So to restrict US citizens from utilizing NeTeller service unfairly restricts both US citizens and NeTeller from doing business which may in fact be non-gambling related. If they come out of this with a purist attitude, this is what they'll find and they won't go anywhere.

There is still a slim chance that NeTeller's immediate statement is designed to calm investors, et al in the uncertain time. Really, what they've said is really wishy-washy. All they said is that they will re-review the wording and will comply. Well, complying is based on interpretation of the words they review and how they hear the US fed state the US requirements.

I read the link and the blog nick put up,, dont seem to be good news for us players in the US, im just disgustard about all this,, Guess We have NO rights here in the US,, its the Polititions Way or NO Way, this really SUX.
buck

Not looking good for us in the U.S. in terms of online poker......time to start hitting the casinos instead I guess.
This Sux!

i thought this would be our loop hole in the ban. since neteller is not a casino and in JDs words "a financial institution" we'd have some hope, but its not looking good.

I agree it doesn't "look" good, but I am still keeping a little hope alive in the back of my mind that what NeTeller said now was more lip service than anything. I think they needed investors, stock market, and everyone to just back off while they figure this out. You know they have a team of lawyers looking at this to determine if they can get around it without repercussion. It will likely come down to a strict interpretation of the legislation's wording. If they can show that they are following the legislation as WRITTEN by the asshole US politicians, then Neteller can stay in place and make/sell their case to investors, backers, and any others connected with it.

Patience guys. This isn't the end, no way. The WORST case scenario is that within 5 years the land casinos will push politicians to regulate the industry and give them licenses to run online poker sites. That's the worst possible outcome. The best (and most likely) outcome is that people find a million and one loopholes and your poker playing experience isn't dramatically affected.

I'm not 100% educated on the bill but Neteller should not be labled a 'US Financial Institution'. In fact if they stick to that wording we should be allowed to open an offshore bank account and conduct transactions like normal. It all depends on how they word the actual law and what they actually make illegal.
As far as the land casinos...there are plenty that have been fighting for years but no success. Some of them cant even get approval to do what they want for some of thier live events.

I Hope the Worst case scenario dont happen Nick,, 5 years, Mmmmmmmmmmm ill be 66 then and probably dead, Had to get some Humor in here, buck

Thanks for the link even if it isn't good news. I think everyone has said what I already think about this. I just hope Nick is right when he states in his blog that he hopes one of the big poker sites will create/spinoff their own ewallet/payment system. I'm not sure how that directly helps the US player if our government is already banning our financial institutions from accepting cash from off shore gambling operations. Maybe someone could enlighten me

Edit: err, I should learn reading comprehension. I like the point by JimboJim in regards to opening up an offshore bank account. I just wonder how much nonsense you'd have to go through to do that. Lets hope its not like the song and dances you can get in the US at times when opening up new accounts!!!

Cayman Islands here I come!

So, I guess it would be smart to fully fund one's poker accounts before Neteller pulls out -- and not plan to withdraw unless you have a large surplus or want to quit playing.

Er, so what happens if Neteller decides to quit serving U.S. players when I have $500 in my FullTilt Poker account. How will I be able to get it out?

I thought about this and have come up with a solution.

The law only affects US banks right? Open up a Swiss Bank account. I checked into it briefly, and it can be done through the mail and takes about a week or so. I didn't look into fees etc.

After that, it would just be a matter of electronically transferring funds though the Swiss bank (or another country, I just googled 'swiss bank' to see options) and then on to your own account.

Never thought I'd wonder how to launder money just so I could play poker online for $1 instead of the considerably larger amount of $ needed to play at the casino 45min from me.

Edit: I looked into it further and frankly unless you are a professional online poker player it's not even close to being realistic. It's EXTRORDINARILY EXPENSIVE. Things like minimum balance of $5,000 and fees close to $1000 just to set up the account. Same with banks in the cayman islands, HUGE minimum balances required.

The last line of Neteller`s statement answers that. They are promising that you`ll always be able to get your money back, whatever else happens.

And that's a problem for you? Can't you use your poker winnings for that?

What about click 2 pay as an option??

"In the interim, US-resident customers are able to use the NETELLER service as normal. The funds of US-resident customers are held in trust accounts and will be available for withdrawal, on demand. The ability to withdraw funds will exist regardless of the customer's location or ability to transfer to any site."

Look at it this way folks, if we aren't smart enough to figure out a way around Uncle sugar, we probably shouldn't be playin poker for money anyway.

That's regarding money in my Neteller account. I'm saying if Neteller stops taking withdrawals from gambling sites/Americans while I have money in my poker account.

But as people have said, there's bound to be ways to get the money.