PokerStars and Echecks

I tried to make a deposit at PokerStars today and it told me that they were not longer accepting Echecks from Arizona State. Is anyone else running into this problem? I have not heard anything about this new issue. If anyone has any information on it I would appreciate it

I dont have any current info on this tbh. The only thing I would mention is that it is best not to mention specific banks/entities when discussing echecks on the forum. That being said, I would try a small bank or credit union, as that would be your best shot imo.

me too!!!!

Any additional info as i had the same experience this a.m. trying to make a deposit?

I would contact the cashier at Poker Stars or their support and see if they can give you more details. Let us know what they say!

I experienced the same problem a few days ago. My bank is located in Nevada. Tried changing my PokerStars mailing address from Nevada to an Arizona one I also have, but that didn't work. It was probably because it's the bank address that matters, but then again, it sounds like neither Nevada nor Arizona would have worked.

I have no idea what's going on. This is something new. It's probably no coincidence that another deposit I made about a week ago, somehow did not go through. PokerStars accepted it and gave me real money chips that I used to play in some tournaments. A few days ago they rescinded the deposit, leaving me with both (a) a negative balance (I was down a little from those tournaments), and (b) an inability to do anything about it.

Curious to see what will happen if I try to make a deposit over at FTP, where I also play sometimes. Haven't tried that yet.

-sm-

A friend of mine, who is also a member here, has had the same problem fo a couple of weeks now. She's in Louisiana. Echecks works fine for her on Full Tilt though.

And I'm with JQ--please let us know what they say.

I'm also having the same problem but am curious about my negative balance. If I can't deposit an echeck, my visa won't work, and mastercard doesnt work anymore either how can I remove my negative balance? (without a $100 money order)

It hasn't been withdrawn. Plus AZ members specifically are getting this message all over the internet.

Found an article online that was just published saying tons of states are having this problem and its due to legal issues with online gaming.

http://calvinayre.com/2011/01/27/pok...ecks-bouncing/

^^ I had just had a Pokerstars eCheck deposit get returned, I guess this is why...

Same problem here in TX, small negative balance now and I don't want to do the western union fees or $100 money order. No response yet to my email to pokerstars.

Well I contacted support at PokerStars and all they basically said was that they are no longer accepting eChecks from the state I live in. They didn't give me any details which was rather annoying because I want specific details. I have sent them a few emails asking for details on this issue and they just kept saying the same thing as in they are no longer accepting eChecks from the state I live in. What I don't get is that my bank is in another state and I have never had this problem before. I guess they go off of your IP address rather then where your bank is located. I still have not come across anything that has given me any details about what is going on. So at this moment the only thing you can do is either Western Union or Cashiers check and I am not willing to do either of them, so I guess I am just going to have to deal with not playing real money and rely on freerolls and they are going to have one less real money player, or should I say many less real money players.

I saw on another forum that someone in Missouri was having the same problem. The only thing that I can say is that the ones to get mad at are the us govt. officials who have nothing better to do than to harass adults spending their money as they choose.

I've sent an email off to Stars support as a moderator of Cardschat. Hopefully I can get some more definitive info (fingers crossed!), and will post here. I'm sure though that they are getting bombarded with emails at moment, so we'll see.

I received a reply from Poker Stars support yesterday; just had not checked my email until now:

Hello Tammy,
Thank you for your email.

While we are currently unable to offer Instant eChecks as a deposit method in some states, we do have alternative deposit methods available for the players affected to use - they may review other available deposit options at:
http://www.pokerstars.com/realmoney.html

Please note that this restriction on payment methods used to fund their PokerStars account in no way affects their ability to play at the tables, or to request cashouts as per normal. We are working with the processors and our legal team to assess our options for the future.

We are also unable to remove the current eCheck bank details that they have stored in the cashier and in their PokerStars account. This is because a change of bank details will not be able to override the eCheck depositing restrictions currently in force in their state of residence.

If they require personalized assistance to make their next deposit, please advise them to email us at dad@pokerstars.com.

Please note due to legal issues we are not able to specify which state are affected.

Please let us know if we can further assist you.

Regards,
Leon
PokerStars Security Team

____________________

I sent a reply asking what advice or info they can give to players who intially had their eCheck deposit approved on Poker Stars' end, but blocked by their bank, leaving them with a negative balance on Stars. I will let you know as soon as I get a reply.

I live in Nevada and can't use Echecks any more either. And when I emailed to find out why, I got the same standard reply. From reading here, it seems Poker Stars has run into some kind of legal issue, while other poker sites have not. Seems strange, and I'm guessing that PS isn't accepting Echecks from any state now. Thanks for this goes out to the Republican party poker that passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Act in 2006. Don't blame me, I don't vote for those intolerant, senile old boobs. But anyway, the only option left is Western Union. I checked on their website to see just what it will cost to make PS's minimum deposit requirement of $100. The cost is $15. So I have to pay 15% interest for such a deposit. To send $200, it costs $22, so the interest rate comes down to 11%. This isn't very appealing an option for me. I play micro limits, but now I'm gonna be in the hole to the tune of $15 or $22 before playing a single hand? To pay in fees an amount that by itself would last me a good month playing cards, assuming my typical luck? Ugh.

I still have a few bucks left in my account, plus some FPP's to play off, but after that, I don't know. I used to play 7 days a week, several hours a day, and burned through ALOT of money before throwing in the towel and downsizing to these micro stakes that don't cost so much, so now it's all just for fun and killing time, but paying such fees makes me hesitate. So we have to decide if it's worth it, and maybe there's something better to do with our time than to enrich Poker Stars playing a game that gives no better odds than playing a slot machine no matter how much skill we have, and I have plenty of those all around me just a few minutes drive away, and I get free drinks and eye candy too! Hmmmmm .......

I haven't needed to make a deposit in a long time, so when I read this I decided to give it a try from Ohio with a small amount. Went right through.

I did hear from one of my friends today, however, that Missouri is now on the non-acceptance list.

I got the same message, and I live in Illinois... no e-checks.

Yep here too, wtffff Florida here, sigh

state bandwagon? Wtf is happening lol it seems like a lot of new ones imo

same problem here in NY, can't deposit using eCheck, VISA or MasterCard. grrr. I can get a free bank check from one of my banks, but then you still have to pay for registered mail to UK, which I am sure is at least $10. frustrating.

Gambling911.com says that the option has been removed from FTP and Pokerstars due to a payment processing center in Baltimore finally agreeing to cooperate with investigators after a 3 year investigation.

http://www.gambling911.com/poker/pokerstars-echeck-crisis-gambling911-twitter-alerts-around-clock-012711.html

i've been trying to deposit for close to 2 weeks. im just gonna give it up.

bout time they just delete that method

Anyone from pennsylvania that has used ECHECK to deposit??? (Pokerstars)

nobody anywhere is using echeck to deposit ATM

Ditto about the negative money and nothing to do about it. Back to FT I guess. I hope this doesn't spell the end of these two sites in the US. I would be a bit miffed.

Try a prepaid Credit card available at wallmart. Works Well.

pre paid cards dont work anymore...

No reason to worry if you can't get money in you can't get money out.I just tried just to try though it worked for me in Alabama.

afraid this may be the case first time I have ever had to withdraw via check. Tried twice for wire transfer but bank rejected both times.

I see that you're in BC, Canada. Fortunately for you, this is a US issue. I haven't heard of any echecks problems outside of the States.

Though echecks are still working in OH, I've never been able to use any kind of prepaid card here.

I've been having the same problem as everyone else. Does anyone know if this is permanent problem? Are there any other poker programs that will accept echecks? This totally sucks

Same here for NY. Looks like the gov is tightening the noose.

ya wont let me do it either. i can only use my checking acct.

wtf are we suppose to do now? everyone depsit using Western Union? haha

I also have a negative balance at this point and nothing to do about it. I wish II was warned before this had happened, but it is what it is. Best of luck to ya.

I've been advised by Poker Stars that anyone who has a negative balance should contact dad@pokerstars.com to help you sort it out. They can also help you with other deposit options.