Neteller Makes a 180

A week ago, Bruce Elliott, executive vice president of Neteller, in addressing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), said, “I don’t think we have a very big problem.” Well, now it looks like they do.

Today, Netller updated its position on how it will handle the UIGEA in a press release. Suffice it to say, its new position is not good for online poker fans. The meat of the statement is as follows:

NETELLER, a company registered outside the US, will comply with the Act and its related regulations as if it were subject to the Act’s jurisdiction. This action is intended to ensure that the Company is able to continue to operate with the support of its principal commercial partners and to protect its shareholders, business partners, employees and reputation.

Various provisions of the Act, including the obligations of financial transaction providers such as NETELLER, remain unclear. This uncertainty should be largely resolved when the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issue the regulations they are required to prescribe within 270 days.

In view of the importance of these issues, NETELLER has accelerated its review of the Act and all other relevant laws and pertinent developments. The Company also continues to closely monitor the regulatory situation and is determining what actions to take well before the conclusion of the 270-day rulemaking period.

So, now that we know that Neteller will not be fighting to retain its American customers, it looks to be a waiting game to see exactly what will happen and when. It could be almost nine months until any action is taken, but Neteller did say it could figure things out sooner. While none of this means that Neteller will definitely shut out U.S. customers, it does not look promising. A “wait and see” approach is about the only thing anyone can do at this point.

While Neteller is the most popular method for online poker transactions, there are others, so if U.S. customers are banned, there will still be choices. After all, Maryland residents have not been able to use Neteller, and they figured out other ways to get their money to and from poker rooms.

Again, let’s wait and see.


Originally published October 19, 2006