How to Use NETeller at Online Casinos

Historically credit cards have provided a very fast and convenient way for customers of online casinos to set up accounts and quickly start playing. Ideally, it is a very simple way to go. However, these often involve a substantial banking transaction, and banks in the United States are not only subject to regulation in the U.S., they are also subject to having these transactions monitored. Government agencies have used the Patriot Act as a mechanism by which to do this, under the pretense that transactions that involve international commerce may in fact be a cover for activities that could potentially compromise national security. For this reason, credit card transactions in gaming have become more difficult to execute, and have from time to time even been eliminated by some online casinos.

Bank wires unfortunately can fall under the same scrutiny, especially since the minimum transaction that must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service by a bank is now $5000 (reduced from $10,000). United States banks have taken to using questionnaires with customers, ostensibly to gather information about account activity in the event they are audited by the government. Some customers justifiably regard this as an invasion of privacy.

Therefore, the e-wallet becomes an attractive way to go. Yes, the account is customarily opened using a bank account as a reference, but activity through the e-wallet system need not be monitored by any banking authority, since it is not transacted through the bank itself. As you might expect, using the e-wallet became an especially convenient form of payment and withdrawal for many online casino players in the United States. At one time PayPal was used, but with its acquisition by eBay the gaming transactions were eschewed. Neteller became the alternative, but with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), processors who did business with online casinos and had a presence in the United States were investigated and stopped. Funds deposited by those the government suspected of gambling and playing poker online were seized and/or frozen, and the process of returning those funds to their rightful owners did not commence until six months later.

This did damage to Neteller, at the time the world's largest independent money transfer business, which decided to stay out of the U.S. market for the time being. There are moves afoot to overturn the UIGEA, or put other legislation in place in the U.S. that would make certain forms of online gambling legal and regulated, but there is no indication Neteller will handle U.S gambling transactions until then. This does not, however, impact Neteller's ability to service clients outside U.S. borders.