Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006

[Rollo]

Well, I'm starting this thread for those who want to analyze the the text of the beast and debate the likely fallout. This is a big deal for the industry any way you look at it and things are going to change.

After a more careful reading of the measure, here's what I gather.

1) If a casino, sportsbook, poker room, bingo, lottery or other gambling entity (save horse betting and fantasy sports) accepts any money from a US player, they are subject to fines and up to 5 years in prison. (I'm assuming this includes everyone from the employee who took the wager up to the chairman of the board). Therefore, this bill has effectively made all forms of online gambling illegal. That is they commit a US crime the moment they accept a payment in one of the proscribed ways from a US player in order to take a bet. I'm not sure if this includes players who send money, but it looks like it might. It is sort of ambiguous but they do say any bet “initiated” (it’s the players who initiate bets) or received, but defers to state law were there is a conflict.

It won’t end online gambling, just take its biggest market out of play for large scale operations that fear prosecution. Foreign betting will continue as usual and fly-by-nighters catering to US clients will now have a space to make a come back. Online gambling will likely go from a 12 billion industry and growing to a 5 billion dollar industry and shrinking for a while as the big boys stop taking US wagers.

2) Firepay and Neteller are screwed. They won't go out of business and what they do has not been criminalized. However they will in short order be "blacklisted" so that any attempted transfer to them within the US jurisdiction will not be honored. i.e. a check, money order, wire, credit card etc. The DOJ can seek to block transactions in District Court for whomever it thinks is facilitating the transfer of US money to offshore gambling. I assume the banks will voluntarily comply. So large scale professional outfits like Neteller and Firepay (sitting ducks) will not be able to effectively operate as all financial lines to them can be blocked which will kill a majority of their business. Since gambling was their reason for being, I assume their days are numbered as now they must complete with better services (i.e. Paypal and the upcoming Google service).

3) ISPs, web hosts, etc. are totally exempt from any criminal penalties as well as any obligation to police their space, but I assume most US hosts will not want to host gambling related sites any longer and will start including this in their terms. This doesn’t include sites where actual wagering takes place which is criminal. This could even affect the domain names of gambling entities such as 888.com.

4) Gambling advertisers such as bocguide.com and casinomeister.com can be forced to remove links to gambling sites (by whom I’m not sure, web hosts, IPSs, the DOJ? – they don’t really say). No penalties were spelled out for non-compliance. It looks like other than difficulties finding a host, advertisers can continue as before, however they too will obviously be effected by the massive loss of market so expect to see more British Pounds on those gambling banners in the near future.

5) The burden of making sure all of this happens falls on the financial industry. They have 270 days in consultation with the Fed and the DOJ to figure out how to do police it and if it's too burdensome, their obligation could be waved. No penalties for non-compliance. I don’t expect them to make a big effort, but they really don’t need to make one. The DOJ can simply flag certain serial offenders such as Neteller and Firepay. I assume they will all comply voluntarily rather than push the envelope. They really have no incentive to go to the mat for offshore casinos.

6) This 270 days does not appear to apply to the legality of taking wagers so, I think within 30 days after Bush signs this thing into law (is that the normal time frame, I’m not sure), 888.com and Party Gaming will be subject to criminal penalties the moment they accept a transfer from a US player directly or indirectly.

In sum, this does look bad. I guess that there will be a flood of casinos now banning US players for fear of prosecution. Sending money to a casino as a US player just got more difficult and US players will now have to gamble at the whole slew of fly-by-night casinos that are sure to pop-up to serve the diehards. It’s back to the bad old days for US players as only seriously shady folks are going to want to take that risk.

Party Gamming, 888 Holdings et al stocks are going to tank and the online gaming industry is going to be a shadow of its former self for many years to come…

But it will rise again I suspect…

I could have misread all this as I'm totally drunk at the moment (its Saturday and life must go on), but it appears this law has some teeth.

Anyone else want to take a crack at it?

 

[The Dude]

4) Gambling advertisers such as bocguide.com and casinomeister.com can be forced to remove links to gambling sites (by whom Im not sure, web hosts, IPSs, the DOJ? they dont really say). No penalties were spelled out for non-compliance. It looks like other than difficulties finding a host, advertisers can continue as before, however they too will obviously be effected by the massive loss of market so expect to see more British Pounds on those gambling banners in the near future.

I could see being asked to remove links on a website served within the US. But if the company is located outside the US, the servers are outside the US, I don't think the US has any jurisdiction over this.

 

[just play]

I'm confused.....this already passed? The latest thing I saw posted here (someone posted a link) in another section was that George Bush still had to sign it?

 

[Westland Bowl]

I'm confused.....this already passed? The latest thing I saw posted here (someone posted a link) in another section was that George Bush still had to sign it?

His signature is largely a given. The only thing we can hope for is for him to strike out the Internet gambling provision before he signs....which isn't likely. But maybe, just maybe, since he can't go for a third term, he'll just do that. I dunno.

 

[Westland Bowl]

Ya know....the bill doesn't mention about money ALREADY in Neteller accouints. If you use your own money in Neteller without ever needing to get cash from your bank account, credit card, etc. from now on, then, since Neteller isn't in USA, you'll be transferring money back and forth between casinos, Neteller (Firepay and others), without touching any US bank or other US entity.

So if you continue to make profits with money you transferred from your bank long ago, then you probably do alright since the law covers EFTs from effective date on.

 

[aka23]

Ya know....the bill doesn't mention about money ALREADY in Neteller accouints. If you use your own money in Neteller without ever needing to get cash from your bank account, credit card, etc. from now on, then, since Neteller isn't in USA, you'll be transferring money back and forth between casinos, Neteller (Firepay and others), without touching any US bank or other US entity.

So if you continue to make profits with money you transferred from your bank long ago, then you probably do alright since the law covers EFTs from effective date on.

Is it clear that players in the US will be able to cash out money in Neteller accounts after the law goes into effect?

 

[sdaddy]

Ya know....the bill doesn't mention about money ALREADY in Neteller accouints. If you use your own money in Neteller without ever needing to get cash from your bank account, credit card, etc. from now on, then, since Neteller isn't in USA, you'll be transferring money back and forth between casinos, Neteller (Firepay and others), without touching any US bank or other US entity.

Exactly. That's going to be my approach from now on. As of now, my Neteller account is funded well enough so that I should not need to make a deposit from my bank account again.

Is it clear that players in the US will be able to cash out money in Neteller accounts after the law goes into effect?

That's the only remaining question in my mind. It doesn't seem likely that my bank would go so far as to prevent me from depositing a check from my Neteller account. I'd really like to hear others opinion on this, however.

 

[Simmo!]

Is it clear that players in the US will be able to cash out money in Neteller accounts after the law goes into effect?

It will be I'm sure. After all, it will take around 270 days before this becomes law so its not like we should all be in a rush to do stuff here.

 

[The Watchdog]

I think..

I could see being asked to remove links on a website served within the US. But if the company is located outside the US, the servers are outside the US, I don't think the US has any jurisdiction over this.

If I am not mistaken, this could be avoided by just changing the site to www.casinomeister.gr.co, or www.casinomeister.xxx

(xxx) standing for any extention for a server not located in the US....

You could change your URL to a Costa Rican site... www.casinomeister.co.cr

Here, no one will waste time to give you crap for advertising.

 

[sneakattack]

Just wanted to make sure of this: we have 9 months before any legal enforcement begins. Thus until june absolutely nothing is happening, except maybe more casinos banning us players. Money currently in neteller or at casinos is at no risk?

 

[The Dude]

If I am not mistaken, this could be avoided by just changing the site to www.casinomeister.gr.co, or www.casinomeister.xxx

(xxx) standing for any extention for a server not located in the US....

You could change your URL to a Costa Rican site... www.casinomeister.co.cr

Here, no one will waste time to give you crap for advertising.

Just because a website has a .com extension, it doesn't necessarily mean it's an American company or is hosted in the states. Look at all of the casino domains. I don't think any of them are hosted in the US.

 

[AussieDave]

I could see being asked to remove links on a website served within the US. But if the company is located outside the US, the servers are outside the US, I don't think the US has any jurisdiction over this.

Unless Country A is in deficit to the USA

 

[Rollo]

God I have a hangover... praise Jesus for the strong coffee they grow around here.

Anyway, yeah, I agree portals will only have an issue if they host in the US and I don't think this will amount to much anyway other than that many servers won't want to host gambling-related content sites. No penalties, no real means of enforcement - a minor inconvinience a best.

The major incovinience is the rest of it as the text seems to attack the industry on all fronts.

Anyway, I uploaded a copy of the text (see attatchment). The evil act starts on page 213.

Two points I'm still cloudy on:

1) Are players included, or just operators?

2) Is this law universal or does it only compliment state and tribal law?

I'm not smart enough to understand these things, unfortunately.

I think on the 270 day thing, this doesn't mean that you're safe for 270 days with respect to fund transfers. It means that the powers that be have a maxiumum of 270 days to get thier shit together. They could do it much sooner if they were so inclined. Assuming that I'm right about the broad illegality... that would go into effect much sooner, I'd guess 30 days after W signs it.

Yeah, I don't think domain names are in play for anyone other than the gambling entities themselves so casinomeister.com is safe, but partypoker.com may not be as long as it's with a US company like Network Solutions. Anyone know of non-US companies that offer .com extensions?

Here is another analysis from a guy that read the bill 10 times: Old / Expired Link

Rollo

 

[AussieDave]

All jokes a side...

I've got more than a few gambling domains registered with godaddy (a USA based company). Ok maybe I'm getting a little too pedantic, but, hypothetically what's to stop the US gov cracking down on this too?

 

[Rollo]

Trezz,

I'd guess there is nothing to worry about there per se unless you run a casino... the law seems to state explicity that interactive computer services, which surely includes ISPs, web hosts, domian hosts, and I believe portals as well are not subject to criminal penalties and there is no action laid out that they have to take either. The worst that could happen is that Godaddy could simply decide gambling sites should take their business elsewhere, though I doubt this will happen as it also says they have no obligation to police for gambling content, but it could.

At any rate, I think now would be a good time for webmasters to start looking for a non-US company to host .com names - if one exists. If not, then this could be problematic.

After the hangover wears off, I'll check at ICANN and see if it's possible for a non-US company to host .com, .net etc...

I dig that crazy cat by the way...

 

[RobWin]

"Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006"

This is the title of this new Bill right, but can anyone please tell me who determined that "Internet Gambling was Unlawful" ?

When was this law signed by the President stating that "Internet Gambling has been determined to be Unlawful"

When the hell did this happen ?

NOTE: Please read the above carefully !

P.S. How can you enforce an impose an Act upon an "Unwritten Law" ?

 

[Westland Bowl]

When was this law signed by the President stating that "Internet Gambling has been determined to be Unlawful"

P.S. How can you enforce an impose an Act upon an "Unwritten Law" ?

This is exactly what I wondering about. How in the hell can the US government or anyone for that matter say that online gambling is illegal in US? Huh? What section of law are they going to charge someone under? Even God himself never said gambling is sinful.

It seems the media, government, and naive people keep repeating over and over "Online gambling is illegal" until they convince themselves and everyone else that it is true.

The logic that people get themselves into debt trouble when gambling therefore we should ban it doesn't hold water. In fact, let's ban water because too many people drown in it. Let's ban stairs because too many people hurt themselves fall down them. Let's ban stocks and commodity trading because far too many people lose their money in them compared to gambling.

Frist must be trying to gain favor by the 'powers-that-be' in order to be chosen to be the next president.

 

[The Watchdog]

Excellent..

Just because a website has a .com extension, it doesn't necessarily mean it's an American company or is hosted in the states. Look at all of the casino domains. I don't think any of them are hosted in the US.

Excellent..

So your domain is at no risk... I dont know why I had the idea that .com's where domains in US servers, reason why you have extentions like xxx.co.uk...

So keep the banners, keep the forum and hope those morons burn in....

 

[Simmo!]

Someone not that long ago pointed out that if Internet Gambling was supposed to be illegal in the USA, why were there TWO Bills (4411 and 4477) to make online gambling illegal currently awaiting legislature. LOL. Damn good point

 

[RobWin]

This is exactly what I wondering about. How in the hell can the US government or anyone for that matter say that online gambling is illegal in US? Huh? What section of law are they going to charge someone under? Even God himself never said gambling is sinful.

It seems the media, government, and naive people keep repeating over and over "Online gambling is illegal" until they convince themselves and everyone else that it is true.

The logic that people get themselves into debt trouble when gambling therefore we should ban it doesn't hold water. In fact, let's ban water because too many people drown in it. Let's ban stairs because too many people hurt themselves fall down them. Let's ban stocks and commodity trading because far too many people lose their money in them compared to gambling.

Frist must be trying to gain favor by the 'powers-that-be' in order to be chosen to be the next president.

Totally agree Westland Bowl !

 

[RobWin]

"Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006"

This is the title of this new Bill right, but can anyone please tell me who determined that "Internet Gambling was Unlawful" ?

When was this law signed by the President stating that "Internet Gambling has been determined to be Unlawful"


P.S. How can you enforce an impose an Act upon an "Unwritten Law" ?

Damn good point Robwin.....This is basically similar as to how the IRS ( Internal Revenue Service) got started if I remember my history right

 

[Rollo]

How can you enforce an impose an Act upon an "Unwritten Law" ?

Well, I really dig your spirit but actually the truth is they do this all the time. Its how the US legal system works. For example, there is no written federal law that states that abortion is legal in the US, only the Roe v Wade opinion.

Anyway, this whole mess will be left to the courts to interpret the intent of the law after the first prosecution is challenged. The DOJ has already stated it's opinion that all forms of online gambling are illegal (save the two exemptions) and this act really strengthens that opinion. Sooner or later, I think the court will have to issue an opinion on the matter. The reason it's been a grey area is that prosecutors haven't really pushed the envelope until now but I expect they will start doing so very shortly.

Becuase we're talking about 5 years in prison, I'm not sure which rich CEO/casino owner is going to want to step up to defend the industry by continuing to accept bets from US players and be the legal guinea pig. They'll go running for cover... that's the problem. There's no hard oposition to this. This crowd of casino millionaries and billionaires has no backbone. They're about the most politically inpet group in any billion dollar industry I have even seen. They couldn't even get together and fund attack ads against vulnerable Republicans in an election year to send a shot across the bow of the GOP for Christ's sake. No major lobbying effort. Nothing. Just look at that total coward Calvin Ayre. For all his bluster, he didn't even have the guts to attend his own Marketing Conference this year. Such balls. These are the guys who could do something, but they won't. There is no self-sacrificing maverick like Larry Flint in this crowd and one is badly needed.

At any rate, it will likely take years for the court to speak so even if this law gets shot down, it's gonna be hell for a few years and that's the best case scenario I'd think.

It all boils down to do prosecutors want to start prosecuting and if so who has the guts to challenge this law and put their big ole flabby asses where their billions are... we'll soon find out.

 

[Macgyver]

Damn good point Robwin.....This is basically similar as to how the IRS ( Internal Revenue Service) got started if I remember my history right

Umm, did you just give yourself a pat on the back there or am I seeing things?

If I'm not seeing things, I'd wager that someone's still drunk and not nursing a hangover as said before.

 

[Rollo]

The fallout begins...

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It looks like the fallout is begining... 888.com as predicted is out. partygaming to follow.

 

[Mousey]

Hope they give players time to get their money out before they lock out all U.S. players.

 

[paul02085]

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It looks like the fallout is begining... 888.com as predicted is out. partygaming to follow.

Its over for US players. Please keep posting Winner Screenshots so us US guys can have something to get excited about, LOL.

 

[paul02085]

Hope they give players time to get their money out before they lock out all U.S. players.

I suggest doing it immediately if not sooner.

 

[amatrine]

Re

I am taking it then that US affilaites will also no longer recieve payment?

Scarey

Ama

 

[silcnlayc]

Absolutely Appalling!

Frist snuck in this anti gambling measure to "protect us" and yet , no one is watching the hen house!!! Geezes...instead of worrying what I do online during my leisure hours at home with my husband (slots and cards), isn't it time to clean up your own house with child predators such as Foley in your midst?? OMG, unbelievable that they would do this and yet, ignore the fact that one of their own is an online predator?? Are they all this STUPID???

I have sent e-mails out all day to the senators, governors and everyone on the list just to say exactly this...I am hoping others follow suit for it isn't over till it's over and with Foley in the hot seat...Frist's sleight of hand might not pass after all..(Watching the news they brought this up on CNN, for some of the commentators can't believe it was allowed in either).

 

[spearmaster]

Slow down, people... take a deep breath.... let it out.... take another deep breath....

I predict that this will not come to pass - and that the journalist has overstepped his bounds in making his prediction that 888 will pull out today. Party too.

However, 888 does have a strong base outside the US - if anyone can make that jump, it is 888 - but if Party dumps it will be big, big trouble for them.

 

[Rollo]

I really hope you're right about this spearmaster, but I think there is going to be a slow motion stampeed away from US players over the coming months.

Here's how I see the dynamic... as the guy that's bigger than you gets out, the pressure (real or imagined) will be on you to follow suit as no one will want the distinction of being "the biggest gaming site serving US players" as you will be the one in the cross hairs.

I think they would ride it out if it was just a question of fines (after all many of these organizations are totally dependent on the US for revenues), but I think 5 years in federal prision changes everything.

No one, especially someone with a comfortable life and money in the bank, is going to want to be the example (though the billionares that have received so much from US players really owe it to US players to take a stand, but I suspect they'll just go hide instead.)

Anyway, let's hope you're right. I guess we'll know about 888, partygaming, etc. shortly as the big boys are all going to have to say something as owners and investors watch the value of their shares evaporate here in a few hours.

 

[RobWin]

Umm, did you just give yourself a pat on the back there or am I seeing things?

If I'm not seeing things, I'd wager that someone's still drunk and not nursing a hangover as said before.

Yea Macgyver I had a crazy moment there...

 

[spearmaster]

Actually, I already stated my opinion, but it seems some people haven't been able to find it... and still people asking me what my opinion is LOL.

https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/gambling-bill-to-pass-senate-by-midnight.14312/

There are many differing readings of the bill, of course - but for the most part it appears to be a lot of hype. I personally don't believe that 888 would make such a rash decision to get out without having fully studied the implications - certainly not on the first business day after the bill has been put forward - and especially as the legislation has not yet been signed by Dubya.

It's too early to speculate that operators will have to get out. Or that Neteller is going to be impacted. It takes time for a legal opinion to be established, and in this case you can safely say that hundreds of operations are obtaining legal opinions from their lawyers/solicitors.

Plus, there's a wait period as well for establishing what financial institutions must do.

This is not the end of the world.... yet.

 

[The Dude]

...There are many differing readings of the bill, of course - but for the most part it appears to be a lot of hype. I personally don't believe that 888 would make such a rash decision to get out without having fully studied the implications - certainly not on the first business day after the bill has been put forward - and especially as the legislation has not yet been signed by Dubya.

It's too early to speculate that operators will have to get out. Or that Neteller is going to be impacted. It takes time for a legal opinion to be established, and in this case you can safely say that hundreds of operations are obtaining legal opinions from their lawyers/solicitors.

Plus, there's a wait period as well for establishing what financial institutions must do.

This is not the end of the world.... yet.

I'll have to agree with Spear. It's too early to make any decisions on what to do since this is such a poorly written law. Please note: the main focus of this law are the financial institutions based in the US. This is a major obstacle being thrown in the middle of the road - don't think for a second that the big online companies aren't figuring ways around this. I'm sure they have contingency plans that they are pulling from the shelves an dusting off.

"When a door is closed, another will open" is very true in situations like this. The online gaming industry is dynamic and resiliant and has weathered storms like these - the last being the banning of US credit cards. This ban opened the door for webwallets like Neteller. I'm curious on how they plan on dealing with scenerio.

Lest we forget, I don't believe it says anywhere that it is illegal for players to engage in gambling activities online. The burden is on the banks and transaction facilities. I would say just be mellow and watch how the big dogs handle this.

As long as they stay within the law, then there is no problem.

 

[Rollo]

888 suspends U.S. gaming business

Statement by 888 reported by Reuters: "Whilst suspension of U.S. activities will have a material adverse impact on results for this year and beyond, the company has significant cash resources which are more than adequate to continue its operations and further develop its business."

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Well, so much for that. Let's see what Partygaming, who isn't in such a good position, does.

 

[The Dude]

Statement by 888 reported by Reuters: "Whilst suspension of U.S. activities will have a material adverse impact on results for this year and beyond, the company has significant cash resources which are more than adequate to continue its operations and further develop its business."

Hmmm, maybe no Casino-on-net is a good thing for US players

 

[The Dude]

Admin note: threads merged

By the way, I've merged a number of the threads that popped up over the weekend into https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/gambling-bill-to-pass-senate-by-midnight.14312/

 

[Rollo]

Reuters on Partygaming:

"PartyGaming said on Monday it would stop doing business with U.S. customers if legislation passed there aimed at preventing gambling over the Internet was signed into law."

Outdated URL (Invalid)

Shit... Partygaming is out (this week most likely). I wonder who will be next... this is unfolding pretty damn fast.

 

[Rollo]

Sportingbet

Reuters on Sportingbet's statement:

"Should Sportingbet's non-U.S. international banking partners determine that the act applied to them, then Sportingbet would no longer be able to take deposits from U.S. residents and this would have a material impact on the company's trading performance."

Outdated URL (Invalid)

All the big boys are huritng are pealing off.

Sportingbet stocks down almost 70%, Partygaming about 50%, 888 about 40%.

Ouch.

Let's see what the privately held companies decide to do...

 

[Simmo!]

"PartyGaming said on Monday it would stop doing business with U.S. customers if legislation passed there aimed at preventing gambling over the Internet was signed into law."

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Shit... Partygaming is out (this week most likely).

Unlikely....there is a 270 day wait for it to become law as I understand it. I think Party are probably covering their backs for shareholder purposes and will bide their time.

NETELLER US Member Update: 1st October 2006
On Friday 29 September 2006, the US Congress passed legislation which includes certain provisions to prohibit unlawful internet gambling through the restriction of payments to such sites.

The Bill states that there will be a period of up to 9 months for the US regulators to prescribe regulations requiring each designated payment system and all participants therein to identify and block or otherwise prevent or prohibit restricted transactions.

It is currently unclear how NETELLER, a European company, with no assets, presence or employees in the US, would be affected by this bill. Once the regulations have been written, NETELLER will have a clearer view of which companies are affected, how those companies will be expected to comply, and any possible resulting impact on NETELLER and its US facing business.

NETELLER continues to operate its business as normal.

Over 3 million customers in 160 countries trust NETELLER to transfer over $7 billion each year. The company is authorized in the UK by the Financial Services Authority and listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. To protect its customers’ money, all deposited, in-transit, and un-cleared funds are held in Trust Accounts.

Now THAT is a sensible approach. Kudos to Neteller for the prompt and sensible reaction IMO.

 

[Rollo]

Looks like it will be the law of the land in about two weeks...

"The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Bush within the next two weeks, and will become effective immediately thereafter."

Old / Expired Link - it contians a bit of analysis.

Damn...

 

[jetset]

Dubya may sign it into law, but without the regulations required within the 270 day period the law is virtually unenforceable, and without the banking cooperations also required within the 270 days even more so.

Neteller's response looks like the most sensible I have read so far.

 

[The Dude]

Looks like it will be the law of the land in about two weeks...

"The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Bush within the next two weeks, and will become effective immediately thereafter."

Old / Expired Link - it contians a bit of analysis.

Damn...

The Act requires the Secretary of Treasury, within 270 days, to issue regulations requiring financial institutions to block transactions in connection with internet gaming.

9 months is enough time to implement plans to comply with the law. I think there is a lot of unnecessary panicking going on right now. Making rash decisions are rarely wise, and I feel that most everyone is in a wait-and-see mode or "business as usual."

I'm sure most of the larger casino groups will be issuing statements in the next few days after they've had time to analyze the situation. These should be interesting.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Hour Later

An hour later the meltdown has come to pass on the London stock exchange. This is a common reaction on a monday morning to an event over the weekend that appears to change everything.
If investors believe this to be overdone hype then the shares will make up some of the lost ground later in the day, but will have a volatile 2 week period until the expected signature does or does not take place.
If any one from the US wants to gamble online in the mean time, there are the stock markets
A good move on Friday would have been to heavily short the online gaming sector, and I bet a few market players did. Did any SENATORS do this? Would be a great scandal, and highly illegal (insider trading), more so than online gambling may be soon for the US.

 

[The Dude]

If any one from the US wants to gamble online in the mean time, there are the stock markets

 

[hakapuku]

Are there any chances of Neteller going out of business? I have some money there and i am not from US.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Talk about stupid!

Neteller this morning as their shares melt down on the markets:-

Were sorry; NETELLER.com is currently down for planned upgrades. Were adding new languages and refer-a-friend features. We plan to be back online at 11:00 AM UK time. Please try later. Thank you.

Naturally, the actual login site does NOT SIMPLY RESPOND, this message has to be found on the new user signup and home page. Naturally, they have NOT contacted their users about this, as per usual.

Choosing this particular "black Monday" to be unavailable just as users are seeing the sh-one-t hitting the fan is unbelievable (and probably just wanting to make sure Neteller is still open for business); especially as Wednesday has been the day of choice recently.

 

[Simmo!]

Are there any chances of Neteller going out of business? I have some money there and i am not from US.

https://www.casinomeister.com/forum...ernet-gambling-enforcement-act-of-2006.14326/

 

[The Dude]

Are there any chances of Neteller going out of business? I have some money there and i am not from US.

No, I doubt it. They may chose to stop dealing with US banks, but I think they would be far from going out of business.

 

[Rollo]

I totally agree that they won't be able to block US players from sending payments in the near future and that the banks will drag their feet and raise ojections the entire way. But way before then there may be few places to send money if you're a US player. I think a large portion of gaming outfits will have cleared outta Dodge by then.

Trying to put myself in their shoes, I don't think the bottom line or shareholder interest is what the execs really have on their minds, I think what they have on their minds is jail. It seems to me that the act isn't a just a feel good measure that tries to block payments, it discusses some serious criminal penalties for taking bets online that involves jail. They don't want to be the next David Carruthers. Prosecutors don't need to wait 270 days becuase jail isn't intended for the banks, it's for the casino operators.

Players and advertisers don't need to panic at all. US players may just need to find a new hobby and advertisers that made their living off US players will have to really tighten their belts soon, learn Japanese, or both.