The Neteller Lowdown

The recent decision by Neteller to cease facilitating transactions with online gambling sites for its US customers has become the largest effect to date of the UIGEA bill signed into law on October 13th , 2006. Until last week, Neteller was the most universal method for funding online poker and gambling accounts, accepted by virtually every reputable site and accessible to almost any players at those sites throughout the world (with notable exception of Marylanders in the US). Neteller's rapid decision, on the heels of arrests in the US of two founders of the company, was followed in quick succession by the loss of other smaller players in the US including Central Coin and InstaDebit, as well as Click2Pay which is no longer accepting US customers (though existing ones can still use the service). Additionally, many sites no longer offer direct debit/credit of US bank accounts, further reducing the convenient options for managing an online bankroll.
What does this mean for all the players who have money online in various poker sites, sports books, and with payment processors like Neteller? For starters, it's probably not a time to panic, sites like Neteller and Poker Stars are quite reputable, and segregate customer deposits from operating revenues, so as difficult as it may be to access funds at these sites in the short run, it's perfectly reasonable to expect to be able to get the money in the long run, either through slower methods like paper checks, or through other payment processors that are, or may become, available. Neteller is also encouraging members with a need to more quickly access their online balances to withdraw through their Neteller ATM card, though there are some fees and limitations involved, as noted here . That said, now would certainly be a good time to make a prudent assessment of your bankroll and your needs to have ready availability of some or all of it while deciding how best to manage your money online. In my opinion, the best way for a US based poker player to proceed would probably be to get a working bankroll into the sites which seem the most failsafe, in the event that deposit methods are further curtailed. This should allow US players to continue to play at the sites like Poker Stars, Full-Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and others which seem to be in no hurry to prohibit US players from playing, even if methods of depositing money into these sites becomes more difficult in the future. Each player will, of course, have to determine how much risk is acceptable, especially when dealing with the larger sums that a regular online pro will need to maintain in order to minimize normal bankroll risk.
So, what are the options for funding accounts online now? For an up-to-date list of the most popular options and the sites which accept them, you can check out this link for an online spreadsheet which we will keep updating as things progress. The most widely accepted ewallet at this point would appear to be ePassporte which is the method of funding currently recommended by Poker Stars, and which is also available at Ultimate Bet, Absolute, and Full Tilt. By comparison to Neteller it has the disadvantage of some significant fees and slower transfer of cash from a bank account to an ePassporte account, but it does have the advantage of offering a virtual Visa card for online shopping directly from your balance as well as a physical Visa card option (for an additional fee) which allows you to spend from your online balance anywhere Visa is accepted. Also, once funded, transferring funds to and from poker sites online is fee free (with the exception of $5 annual account fee for the the ePassporte account itself), which does mean that for those players who don't need to constantly move money online from regular accounts the fees will probably be a relatively minor nuisance. A complete listing of ePassporte's fees can be found here. One ITHer's account of signing up for an ePassporte account can be found in this forum post.
For as long as ePassporte or an equivalent option remains available (new ones such as ATMonline, NUcharge and eWalletXpress have already popped up), cashing out is also probably best handled via an eWallet, but for those sites where ePassporte isn't available, or in the event of further restrictions, there are some other alternatives. For example, it is possible to fund most sites via Western Union transfers, and in many cases to cash out via this method as well. Unfortunately, this requires person-to-person transfers via Western Union which can be a bit unsettling given the potential amounts involved and the fees can be significant as well. For now, Bodog is picking up the fees for one cashout per week, as noted here, and other sites may institute similar setups if other methods of funding become more difficult. Similarly, most sites will fund an account via a mailed cashier's check or money order and will cash out via a paper check. These methods are likely to remain available for the foreseeable future, as they aren't covered by the UIGEA, but they are obviously not as transparent as online transactions, and do potentially involve the risk/hassle of payments lost in the mail. We will continue to monitor the options available and update here and on the ITH forums with any new information.
Finally, it is worth noting that the online gambling customers in the US are a large portion of the market for these sites, and despite the dearth of options currently available to US players to fund these accounts it is reasonable to expect that the sites that continue to do business in the US will provide alternatives. Likewise, as with any new business, it is essential that those customers do appropriate due diligence and be wary of potential scams and fly-by-night operations. Neteller's withdrawal from the US certainly makes this landscape more uncertain, but with the resources available here and elsewhere we hope to be able to provide you with enough good information to make intelligent decisions about how to continue with your online poker hobby/profession.
In the interests of maximizing the information available to all players, here are a few more useful links about the legal issues surrounding online gaming, as well as specific references about some of the current funding alternatives.
At ITH, you can find up-to-date information on legal issues in the Poker Legal Issues forum, and a similar resource can be found at 2+2's Poker Legislation forum.
For general information about account funding alternatives there's this ITH thread as well as the previously mentioned online spreadsheet. There are also specific threads about ATMonline and ePassporte. The General forum and Poker Bonus Chasing forum at ITH are where any new information will first appear when we get it. 2+2's Internet Gambling forum also has a number of threads about specific poker rooms/payment processors.
CompatiblePoker.com has updated information on many of these issues as well as a list of US-friendly poker sites here, and Gambling911 offers coverage of breaking news as well.