Neteller shuts down Instacash for US players!

[silcnlayc]

It is now 5:55 pm est and I just talked with Neteller and and as of 5:45pm est today, Neteller has retired the instacash feature for all of US players.!!


I found out by trying to deposit with this feature just a few minutes ago and couldn't figure out why it kept denying me so I called them and they said they will offer this no longer to US players....geezes....talk about a low blow!

 

[winbig]

The beginning of the end of Neteller....

 

[indicka]

The beginning of the end of Neteller....

You think? Give them a little time...theyre just changing costumes.

 

[winbig]

You think? Give them a little time...theyre just changing costumes.

Actually, I do. Neteller is one of the very few places still offering transactions to US players. Once they drop the US altogether, I doubt they'll stay afloat.

 

[silcnlayc]

Update...

Update...Neteller will only take EFT and bank wire deposits only, at this time.

 

[winbig]

Update...Neteller will only take EFT and bank wire deposits only, at this time.

I think I'm just going to close my account with them altogether until this blows over. I have since changed banks, and would need to create another account anyways. I've been using gift cards to fund Neteller, but since they can't provide that for now, it's no loss.

 

[indicka]

Actually, I do. Neteller is one of the very few places still offering transactions to US players. Once they drop the US altogether, I doubt they'll stay afloat.

These guys all have floatation devices on before hitting the waters...theyll stay afloat, come back with a bigger ship next round..
Maybe the name Neteller will sink...perhaps they were tired out that name anyways...theyll return with another name, new masks, new methods. (yeah..I'm also into conspiracy theories )

 

[winbig]

These guys all have floatation devices on before hitting the waters...theyll stay afloat, come back with a bigger ship next round..
Maybe the name Neteller will sink...perhaps they were tired out that name anyways...theyll return with another name, new masks, new methods. (yeah..I'm also into conspiracy theories )

Check out the thread about where the founders were arrested. Americans accounted for 75% of their business in '06. They cannot survive without the US market. They would never recover.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Maybe

Check out the thread about where the founders were arrested. Americans accounted for 75% of their business in '06. They cannot survive without the US market. They would never recover.

They may have seen this coming. They have been expanding aggressively into other markets, even the far east and Asia. Many of the unexpected maintenance outages last year was for them to add new language support to the website. Existing issues seemed unimportant, and maybe that was because complaints were largely from US players, a market they feared might be lost to them.
This has probably happened earlier than they had planned, as they were probably hoping to see the results of the 270 day consultation period after the signing of the "safe ports" act, and then formulate a plan to comply with it, object on the grounds it was impossible to implement, or even find a loophole in the provisions. This would have given them a few more months, but they have had to react now. The fact that they are still willing to accept wire deposits and EFTs shows they are hanging on to as much as they can, for as long as they can, while they push into the new markets.
Those of us who play in these new markets may notice a sudden marketing push for Neteller, which will probably involve the casinos giving out special extra bonuses for Neteller deposits, much like the US players are getting for Payspark and eCheck at present, probably the next targets for the FBI.

 

[vickie40]

Alright, I need some guidance..I've been using Neteller exclusively since Firepay went by the wayside. What is my next best option for funding my gambling habit since I live in the US?

 

[vinylweatherman]

Alright, I need some guidance..I've been using Neteller exclusively since Firepay went by the wayside. What is my next best option for funding my gambling habit since I live in the US?

You could be out of luck. No doubt any other processor that seeks to fill the void will have the FBI and/or DoJ after it.

Click2Pay were allowing some US customers, and their strength is in being an all purpose eWallet, not just for gambling. It will be harder to make a case against them without the full implementation of the "safe ports" act. Payspark seems only for MG casinos, and may well shut down to most US players if MG pull out altogether.
If RTG create their own payment processor, you should have no problem depositing and losing online - just wait till you win though, they will have a heap of excuses to draw from.
The remaining option may be a check in the post to the casino, made out to their holding company. Slow, but hardest to stop.
Finally, they could open offices offshore or in Mexico. US players cross the border with the cash (up to the max allowed without having to declare it is leaving the US), and deposit in person. Withdrawal can be by similar means, or taken in goods. Only the most determined player will go this far, only those who emigrate to a country where gaming online is legal will be seen as the most determined of all.

 

[winbig]

Alright, I need some guidance..I've been using Neteller exclusively since Firepay went by the wayside. What is my next best option for funding my gambling habit since I live in the US?

I started this thread back in December. Great read!

https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/one-more-deposit-option-for-us-customers.15365/

Their gift cards (Visa) as well as Pre-Paid debit cards work directly with most, if not all, casinos/poker rooms also.

 

[tennis_balls]

now that they have dropped inta-cash for US players, it will be very interesting to see if the time for an EFT now suddenly improves.

i think many of the posters here are over-reacting. many of the same "Chicken Littles" were crying "it's all over!!!" the morning after chimp signed the port security bill.

i dare anyone to flame me!!!

 

[winbig]

i dare anyone to flame me!!!

Done!

 

[tennis_balls]

Intertops just put $10 in my account. Maybe the world really is ending?

 

[soflat]

now that they have dropped inta-cash for US players, it will be very interesting to see if the time for an EFT now suddenly improves.

i think many of the posters here are over-reacting. many of the same "Chicken Littles" were crying "it's all over!!!" the morning after chimp signed the port security bill.

i dare anyone to flame me!!!

It's all over!!!

The port bill signing was the begining of the end. This is the middle portion.

And they are picking up speed now.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Perhaps

It's all over!!!

The port bill signing was the begining of the end. This is the middle portion.

And they are picking up speed now.

Perhaps their haste will be their undoing - they might crash into a stationary constitutional crisis!

 

[1819]

Alright, I need some guidance..I've been using Neteller exclusively since Firepay went by the wayside. What is my next best option for funding my gambling habit since I live in the US?

all access giftcard from netspend. its the only way i deposit anymore.

 

[TheGooner]

They may have seen this coming. They have been expanding aggressively into other markets, even the far east and Asia. Many of the unexpected maintenance outages last year was for them to add new language support to the website.

As someone who works with asian punters - I'll tell you that Neteller has plenty of room to expand ... they're rubbish in the Southern hemisphere.

Their payment systems and controls are nearly all North American facing - they intergrate with EXACTLY one countries banking system in Asian (Australia) and would have almost less than 1% of the market.

Their "expansion" is not evident down here ...


Pehaps this will focus their minds on actually delivering service down here ...

 

[Pocketdiggers77]

Ive found instadebit to be ok in place of neteller. Click2pay isnt on my A list right now. If solidpay was taken at more casinos I would say them but they seem to be catering to sportsbooks. The biggest problem with instadebit is their low limits. $200 per week i think for me. But that isnt such a bad thing.

 

[EasyRhino]

Well, look at it this way, the port law made banking transactions to fund gambling illegal.

If you use an instacash to make a chip purchase at a casino, then neteller is fairly directly funding a gambling transaction.

However, if you merely transfer money into your e-wallet. And then sometime later, you happen to make a gambling transaction, well, there's no problem with that, right?

It might be neteller's lawyers trying to get sneaky. And I hope so, because they're still an excellent payment method.

 

[frufrugirl]

It will be interesting to see how long the USA will allow the gift cards/prepaid visa and mc's to float our habits... USA banks process these cards.. will they put a clause in stating prohibited for funding online gambling (like my credit card says). Who knows.. It does state that the card may not be used for any illegal activity...

 

[jetset]

Well, look at it this way, the port law made banking transactions to fund gambling illegal.

If you use an instacash to make a chip purchase at a casino, then neteller is fairly directly funding a gambling transaction.

However, if you merely transfer money into your e-wallet. And then sometime later, you happen to make a gambling transaction, well, there's no problem with that, right?

It might be neteller's lawyers trying to get sneaky. And I hope so, because they're still an excellent payment method.

I don't think these arrests were made under the Internet gambling provisions of the Safe Ports Act. That legislation, though signed into law late last year is still subject to the framing of regulations and follow-up with the banking community by the Treasury and the AG (that's what the 270 day window was reserved for)

I think Neteller will survive this, albeit in a leaner form that will need to market really hard, diversify and offer good incentives to build on the global expansion they have been pushing so diligently over the past 18 months.

This is not a two-bit outfit that's just going to fall over and die.

 

[vickie40]

Has anyone used Echeck? It appears to be free;however, since the information is attached to my checking account, I was wondering how secure and safe it is. Any info. will be greatly appreciated!

Vickie

 

[KasinoKing]

I think Neteller will survive this, albeit in a leaner form that will need to market really hard, diversify and offer good incentives to build on the global expansion they have been pushing so diligently over the past 18 months.

This is not a two-bit outfit that's just going to fall over and die.

I hope not!
I've got a huge amount of $US in there at the moment - hanging on in the vain hope the exchange rate will improve before I withdraw...
Yesterday they quoted me over $2/1

 

[andyhinckley]

I hope not!
I've got a huge amount of $US in there at the moment - hanging on in the vain hope the exchange rate will improve before I withdraw...
Yesterday they quoted me over $2/1

Get your self a neteller ATM card KK... that is if you intend to ever visit USA you can use it ther.

I am sure a man of your skills and luck will clear up vegas casinos

 

[babs7262]

Crap

Crap! Maybe it's for the best in my situation

 

[Peaceful1]

Actually, I do. Neteller is one of the very few places still offering transactions to US players. Once they drop the US altogether, I doubt they'll stay afloat.

Looks like they already have dropped U.S. altogether..check out this screen shot of their mail message when I signed into Casino Splendido:

 

[winbig]

Looks like they already have dropped U.S. altogether..check out this screen shot of their mail message when I signed into Casino Splendido:

Until I hear it from Neteller, I won't believe it..(Not that it matters, I've already closed my Neteller account until (if) this blows over.)

The way it's worded is very wrong. *THEY* are the ones that aren't accepting Neteller, not Neteller dropping US players.

I'm pretty sure they're doing this, because once all of their merchant records are made available to the DOJ/FBI/whatever, they are going to go after the casinos in question that have taken deposits from US players.

 

[KasinoKing]

Get your self a neteller ATM card KK... that is if you intend to ever visit USA you can use it there.

Funny you should say that Andy - I'm going next month! (To Florida though - not casino-land )

But the really stupid thing is, although my Neteller account is in $US, Neteller are Canadian and if I use a Neteller cash-card they convert the funds into $CAN (& charge a fee), then convert back to $US for the withdrawal (& charge a fee). They also charge fee just for using the card & even monthly fee for NOT using the card!

So all in all I've decided to withdraw the cash to my UK bank (& pay just one 1.9% fee), and draw out $US from cash machines using my Nationwide current account card = NO fees!

 

[tennis_balls]

Funny you should say that Andy - I'm going next month! (To Florida)

i'll notify the proper authorities at the DoJ.

once KK is in custody, the whole industry will topple!

 

[winbig]

Funny you should say that Andy - I'm going next month! (To Florida though - not casino-land )

But the really stupid thing is, although my Neteller account is in $US, Neteller are Canadian and if I use a Neteller cash-card they convert the funds into $CAN (& charge a fee), then convert back to $US for the withdrawal (& charge a fee). They also charge fee just for using the card & even monthly fee for NOT using the card!

So all in all I've decided to withdraw the cash to my UK bank (& pay just one 1.9% fee), and draw out $US from cash machines using my Nationwide current account card = NO fees!

They don't charge a fee for USD > GBP conversion? Nice

 

[Addisyn]

Actually this is rather good news to me since I am trying to scale back my gaming. The Instacash is where I go wrong. Without that option I will have to simply recycle my winnings, use my debit card which has a daily limit or use Instadebit which I prefer over Neteller.

It looks like a lot of casinos are going to be suffering from the loss of US business again. They took the initial hit when the UIGEA was passed now this will definitely cause some huge losses again. I wonder how many more casinos will pull out of the US market?

 

[vinylweatherman]

Quite

Funny you should say that Andy - I'm going next month! (To Florida though - not casino-land )

But the really stupid thing is, although my Neteller account is in $US, Neteller are Canadian and if I use a Neteller cash-card they convert the funds into $CAN (& charge a fee), then convert back to $US for the withdrawal (& charge a fee). They also charge fee just for using the card & even monthly fee for NOT using the card!

So all in all I've decided to withdraw the cash to my UK bank (& pay just one 1.9% fee), and draw out $US from cash machines using my Nationwide current account card = NO fees!

The Neteller ATM card is a terrible deal! I have my Neteller account in UK Pounds, and pay a flat fee of 1 to transfer any amount to my bank account, whose own ATM card is free to have and use in many bank operated ATM machines here. The ATM card may be of use to US account holders who find their banks will not accept withdrawals from Neteller, but it looks like Neteller are at least considering pulling out altogether.

 

[amatrine]

Re

Yeah it does. TO be on the safe side I would not leave any money in there just sitting. Most likley will be fine, but you never know if their accounts get frozen due to an investigation, etc.

Ama

 

[jon593]

just got an email from bodog:
As you may already be aware, we are no longer able to process transactions from US NETeller accounts. We know that you have used this method recently to fund your account (xxxxxx) and wanted to reassure you that payouts via NETeller can still be requested and will continue to be processed to your NETeller account at this time.

 

[winbig]

Yeah it does. TO be on the safe side I would not leave any money in there just sitting. Most likley will be fine, but you never know if their accounts get frozen due to an investigation, etc.

Ama

I've closed my Neteller account just to be safe. I did note in my email to them that I reserve the right to re-open an account once this blows over. We'll see how they respond.

 

[tennis_balls]

The Neteller ATM card is a terrible deal!

it's a lousy deal, but I'm thinking about breaking mine in today!

 

[Addisyn]

Do cavemen know how to use an ATM?

You are so right amatrine. I am diverting two withdrawals right now from Neteller. Those are the only two I have at the moment since I am scaling back. All of my Instacash transactions have cleared my bank account so once I have these two withdrawals in hand I am closing my Neteller account.

 

[Rangeral]

Just got my notice

I was just e-mailed by the casino I play a lot in that they are no longer accepting instacash from Neteller which is what I use because its free. I had $5,000.00 in there so I went ahead and withdrew it back to my checking account just in case. I was told by the casino that I can open an instadebit account and still fund the casino, but I'm not sure I will do that. I need a break anyway.

rangeral

 

[winbig]

I was just e-mailed by the casino I play a lot in that they are no longer accepting instacash from Neteller which is what I use because its free. I had $5,000.00 in there so I went ahead and withdrew it back to my checking account just in case. I was told by the casino that I can open an instadebit account and still fund the casino, but I'm not sure I will do that. I need a break anyway.

rangeral

For some strange reason I feel that ANY online wallet is going to be in the same situation in the near future.

 

[KasinoKing]

They don't charge a fee for USD > GBP conversion? Nice

No, I didn't say that. You must have mis-read my post.
I pay 1.9%(x rate) for USD > GBP (into my bank account)
But I don't pay any fee for GBP > USD when I use my UK card in a USA ATM!

 

[soflat]

I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave my money in Neteller, but I also don't want to transfer it to my bank account in case they start looking for those types of transactions, and there seems to be a limit on the amount you can put on the ATM card and withdraw.

 

[amatrine]

Re

For now I use instadebit because there are no charges, but I never leave any money just hanging around the account. If there ever is any news of them
doing anything with instadebit I would close it right away, but most lihley my bank would stop accepting them first before that would happen. My bank used to take clik2pay and neteller, and stopped accepting them, so I think its just a matter of time anyway before my bank stops all ewallets, then my online gambling is over, because the other routes to have to go fund a card or something beome to much of a hassle, and I would rather goto the B&M.
I stopped doing the Bm when I hit a $3,000 win that changed my income bracket and cost me 401k write off, and actualy cost me 4,500 in taxes! What a rip that was.

Ama

 

[tennis_balls]

pretty humorous that this late in the game Bodog throws Neteller under the bus.

 

[lots0]

I am getting a total run around in withdrawing from Neteller.

I requested a check be over nighted on the 15th... Still not received.

Called Neteller three times today and they can't/won't give me a tracking number for the late/missing payment.

I requested a complete withdrawal of funds at 8:00am today by over night check and the money is still sitting in Netellers hands, normally the payment would have went out at noon.

The only good thing in this is that the total amount of money Neteller has of mine is under $1000...

After several calls, I have been assured that the payment is on its way... they just can't give me a tracking number...

I think I feel smoke being blown up my ass...

 

[wangpoker]

I am getting a total run around in withdrawing from Neteller.
I think I feel smoke being blown up my ass...

I also requested an overnight check. It's not been accepted for more than 24 hours as usual. It seems things are becoming worse.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Worry?

I am getting a total run around in withdrawing from Neteller.

I requested a check be over nighted on the 15th... Still not received.

Called Neteller three times today and they can't/won't give me a tracking number for the late/missing payment.

I requested a complete withdrawal of funds at 8:00am today by over night check and the money is still sitting in Netellers hands, normally the payment would have went out at noon.

The only good thing in this is that the total amount of money Neteller has of mine is under $1000...

After several calls, I have been assured that the payment is on its way... they just can't give me a tracking number...

I think I feel smoke being blown up my ass...

Perhaps Neteller fear a "run on the bank" after the recent news releases. They must figure that their knee jerk reaction in blocking Instacash, but not telling those affected beforehand, has lead to something of a panic "let's get out while we still can" situation. Neteller must remember what happened when casinos shut the door on US players last year, accounts locked overnight and promise of payment by rather slow means afterwards. Some players mention it taking weeks to get their balances out of affected casinos.

In this case, they may be slow because of an unusually high number of withdrawal requests. If there is no tracking number, they probably have yet to process it. If the funds still show in Neteller, it has not yet been processed through accounts, and of course there will be no tracking information.

If all US accounts are cleared quickly, they could have real problems dealing with the workload, and may even have the funds in the wrong place, or wrong currency. Many banks use illiquid assets to back some of their liabilities, and rely on the fact that not everybody will be moving money in the same direction at the same time. If, however, they take too long in issuing the checks, they will lose the trust of those customers ouitside the US, who will consider the possibility than Neteller does not have the funds to cover all it's current liabilities.

 

[lots0]

If there is no tracking number, they probably have yet to process it.

No, the tracking number is issued by the overnight carrier company.

I was told the payment had been given to the carrier company yesterday morning, but they (Neteller) had not gotten the tracking number from the carrier.

In other words Neteller says they gave the payment to the carrier company and now they (Neteller) have no record of where the payment is... Can you say... "Run around"?

Perhaps Neteller fear a "run on the bank" after the recent news releases.

I am sure they do. So maybe they should say or do something to slow down the 'Run".

 

[vinylweatherman]

Perhaps they are.

No, the tracking number is issued by the overnight carrier company, usually UPS and sometimes FedX, they (Neteller) could not or would not tell me which carrier company they used this time (I thought this was VERY strange).

I was told the payment had been given to the carrier company UPS/FEDX yesterday morning, but they (Neteller) had not gotten the tracking number from the carrier.

In other words Neteller says they gave the payment to UPS or FEDX and now they (Neteller) have no record of where the payment is... Can you say... "Run around"?

I am sure they do. So maybe they should say or do something to slow down the 'Run".

Perhaps giving out the tracking number will show their story to be a lie if you were to use it to track the item, maybe they sent it alot later than they say, but want it to look like the fault of the courier company. It would seem a perfectly reasonable piece of information to give to a customer now that Neteller are claiming the payment is sent - any issues about delay in such a case would rest with the delivery company, and you could use the tracking number to find out exactly where your cheque is. If they have just lost the tracking number, this demonstrates a careless attitiude towards security, and might explain the ease with which the posters in another thread had their Neteller accounts picked clean in a matter of hours by fraudsters, while the security systems just sat by and watched.