Neteller getting all strict on me

[bokske]

I used to play enthusiastically on InterCasino in the years 2005-2006. I would deposit funds from my credit card to Neteller, and sometimes I'd take the winnings back from InterCasino to Neteller, to withdraw them in cash with the Neteller debit card.

By the end of 2006 it became clear that my playing style was not the ultimate way to richess, so I halted playing. However, my luck improved in real life, resulting in a foreign bank account.

2007 was a dramatic year for Neteller, with the Safe Port Act forcing them out of the US, which took about 80% of their turnover away. Other countries stepped up their fight against online gambling as well, so they took a lot of heat in various places in the world. To make things worse, an increased attention to money laundering forced them to become even more restrictive.

In light of this, it did not surprise me that the Neteller debit card service was discontinued halfway through 2007. To my delight, they got on board with FirstPay to offer a new debit card, which I signed up for immediately. I had a little scheme in mind : depositing money from my foreign bank into Neteller, then withdrawing it through this debit card.

That worked really well for two months, and then without any warning my Neteller account got suspended. I got a weird message that I needed to go through the whole identification procedure again, as if I were a new subscriber. After lengthy chat sessions with their support staff, I finally got the explanation why my account had been blocked. My pattern of transactions allegedly "violated their policy", without saying it out loud, I guess their money-laundering alarm was triggered.

So I had to promise on my mother's grave that I would discontinue my practices, and I got my account back, with the remaining money still intact. I suppose I should now use it in some InterCasino gambling sessions, in the hope of breaking even, before I can legitimately withdraw it back to Neteller and then out through the debit card. Damn, I hate when these shady online outfits get all compliant and stuff.

[vinylweatherman]

The problem is that this is using Neteller as a conduit to move money from your bank to the debit card. Funding of Neteller is supposed to result in the money going in and out of casinos, as well as the debit card.
They may also be worried about the legal situation in Belgium (isn't online gambling supposed to be illegal?), and would wonder why you are using an offshore account and simply converting it's contents into cash. As well as "crime", they have to worry whether you might be using this scheme to evade taxes, which would, of course, still be money laundering.