Neteller will most likely pull out of US this week

[Dr. Jack]

Here is what I believe is going to happen with neteller. I did this for a small news site so wanted to of course post it here

Neteller will most likely pull out of US this week
Dr. Jack, Cappers Mall.com
12/16/2006

Today has been an interesting day for neteller and gamblers across the United States. It started out late yesterday evening when it was reported that two former NETeller PLC executives were detained while traveling separately through the United States in "connection with the creation and operation of an Internet payment services company that facilitated the transfer of billions of dollars of illegal gambling proceeds from United States citizens to the owners of various Internet gambling companies located overseas," according to the U.S. Attorney General's office of Southern New York.

NETeller PLC suspended trading its shares on the London Stock Exchange in lieu of the arrests of founding members Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. Besides owning stock in NETELLER, the two do not hold any positions with the company.

It was later announced that these executives were facing major money laundering charges. In an investigation that apparently began as late as June of 2006, the DOJ has described Neteller PLC, a company that is based in Isle of Man and is publicly-traded in the United Kingdom as a company that conducts and facilitates illegal financial transactions between gambling customers in the United States and numerous offshore online gambling businesses.

Two separate sources have told CappersMall.com that they believe Neteller PLC will make an official announcement that they will no longer accept any business from the United States. This announcement is expected to come some time this week. The source also has stated they do not believe that there will be a freeze on Neteller PLC money and people should be able to get their money out without worry.

Sports and Poker players from around the globe were rumored to be withdrawing and transferring funds at a heavy rate all day today.

A rep from Neteller PLC refused comment about this report when asked.

CappersMall.com has also learned that Pinnacle Sports has denied knowing about the latest arrests of former Neteller executives. Pinnacle Sports announced this past week that they were withdrawing from the United States, which caught many by surprise around the gambling world. Speculation has gamblers every where drawing their own conclusions.

"I think people (gamblers) are nervous in general" says, Dr. Jack who runs the Cappers Mall message boards. "You still have pretty much two trains of thought, 1) You have some bettors who think the end of online gambling is here and 2) You have several who believe this is just another expected road block but online gambling will never go away".

What's interesting is both defendants have no ties to Neteller any longer except as a shareholder. Many experts believe this is new unchartered territory that the government is headed towards. Many analysts also believe it will be tough to get a guilty verdict. A prosecutor, Michael Garcia, said the men had known when they took their company public that its activities were illegal. Is the issue only because they took the company public? Or could it be that they live or visit the United States?

[mlwitchking]

Thanks for the write up. I'm just hoping that all of this gets sorted out by the time football starts back up again.

[Dr. Jack]

Originally Posted by mlwitchking

Thanks for the write up. I'm just hoping that all of this gets sorted out by the time football starts back up again.

That seems like forever away but yes that would be very nice. Hopefully after the Super Bowl and March Madness things will quiet down a bit. Cross your fingers

[defo]

cleaned out my neteller account early this morning

[BigFratDaddy]

this is ridiculous....all funds are headed to the bankaccount. first firepay now neteller....there arent many other options especially for poker

[epstein]

Dr J,what would you say is the best way to transfer funds now?

I have always used Neteller and was satisfied,what now?

[NY Mane]

Shady locals will be crawling out of the woodwork now. The government just doesn't understand the effect of this. Being online you can only wager what you can afford. Locals extend credit and that can be bad for people w/ no money management skills. It will get ugly for some.

[Dr. Jack]

Originally Posted by epstein

Dr J,what would you say is the best way to transfer funds now?

I have always used Neteller and was satisfied,what now?

Well nothing is official as of now but assuming neteller will no longer be an option – there are a few other ways as of now and I am sure more on the way. I personally have really only used neteller as well. I have heard some positive things about Citadel and MyATMonline but I do not know enough about them.

I know that Bet Jamaica will be announcing information about a brand new ATM card in the very near future. The books have tried a few, some have worked and some not – but I think debit cards might be a real possibility of the future.

It’s only a matter of time when the dust settles before someone comes out with a Debit card that works for all poker and sports betting sites, similar to Neteller. Time will tell. I am going to try and look in to some other payments methods mentioned above as well as SolidPay and some others that are out there. I know there are some in here that use myatm, etc so hopefully others will also give some suggestions/input

[epstein]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jack

Well nothing is official as of now but assuming neteller will no longer be an option – there are a few other ways as of now and I am sure more on the way. I personally have really only used neteller as well. I have heard some positive things about Citadel and MyATMonline but I do not know enough about them.

I know that Bet Jamaica will be announcing information about a brand new ATM card in the very near future. The books have tried a few, some have worked and some not – but I think debit cards might be a real possibility of the future.

It’s only a matter of time when the dust settles before someone comes out with a Debit card that works for all poker and sports betting sites, similar to Neteller. Time will tell. I am going to try and look in to some other payments methods mentioned above as well as SolidPay and some others that are out there. I know there are some in here that use myatm, etc so hopefully others will also give some suggestions/input

Thank Dr.,hopefully someone will come out with a card,that was the only way I made withdrawls through my Neteller card

Guess we can just wait for now

[Dr. Jack]

Originally Posted by epstein

Thank Dr.,hopefully someone will come out with a card,that was the only way I made withdrawls through my Neteller card

Guess we can just wait for now

I love my neteller debit card. I used it for everything. I believe the new Bet Jamaica one is supposed to be very convenient. I guess we will see and I will announce something about the debit card as soon as I know anything

[epstein]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jack

I love my neteller debit card. I used it for everything. I believe the new Bet Jamaica one is supposed to be very convenient. I guess we will see and I will announce something about the debit card as soon as I know anything

[Chowda99]

i think im gonna get all my money out of pokerstars tonight after i play and send it to my sportsbook. i just dont see another way to get my out at stars, where with my sportsbook they will send me a check within 2-3 business days. sad sad day and the US is just so greedy and dumb. i have NO clue what i will do with my free time now that online poker is being taken away.

[boldt]

As many of you know, the founders of Neteller were arrested early Monday morning. After gathering information from several credible sources today, including Citadel Commerce, the Poker Players Alliances, and other media contacts, we can safely say that the following facts about the events are TRUE:

1. Stephen Lawrence was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He resides on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, not property of the U.S. John Lefebvre was arrested in Malibu, California.

2. The charges, as stated, were money laundering to illegal gambling websites and RICO, which stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. The latter was language used to arrest many mob members throughout history. It also includes drug trafficking and other violations.

3. The investigation had been ongoing since at least June of 2006 and evidence cited in the case goes back to the company's inception in 1999. The company started transactions with "gambling" sites in 2000.

4. The official citation states two instances where the FBI Agent in question wagered on NFL games. He used Neteller to deposit onto a sports wagering site, which was not named. This violates the Wire Act of 1961. The third violation does not list specific merchants, but an FBI Agent deposited onto three separate online, offshore merchants, described as "online gambling businesses." The NFL wagers amounted to $250 or less and the aforementioned deposits were all exactly $25.

5. The Board of Directors of Neteller has strongly urged that the company's shares, which are traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "AIM," be suspended from trading. The value of these shares has plummeted recently.

6. Neither man has any current position within Neteller except for ownership rights. One left in December, 2005 and the other left in October, 2006. Both were the founders of the company.

7. I spoke directly with Neteller today and received the following wording: "From time to time, NETELLER revises the policies of our products and services. At the end of 2006, NETELLER began reviewing the instaCASH payment option, which resulted in the decision to retire this product from the US, effective January 16, 2007. As such, instaCASH is no longer available to US members. If you have any further questions, please visit http://updates.neteller.com."

8. Neteller is monitoring the U.S. situation closely, as can be expected. They stated "We have several deposit options available: 1. Online Check (EFT) - Money in your NETELLER account at no charge available in 4-5 business days. 2. Credit Card - Instantly fund your account for a fee of 3.9% 3. Bank Wire - Can be initiated from any bank worldwide. you must personally go into your local bank with the appropriate bank wire information to initiate a bank wire deposit to your NETELLER account."

9. Neteller assured me that all withdraw functions will remain as normal and continue without interruption for U.S. customers.

10. The complete case against Lawrence can be found here:
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/...ntentID=163591

11. The complete case against Lefebvre can be found here:
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/...ntentID=163594

12. The only information that has officially been released from Neteller is a press release. It can be found here:
http://www.neteller-group.com/press/en/122.htm

13. An Associated Press article by Larry Neumeister stated, "Lefebvre and Lawrence also conceded in the company's offering documents that they were risking prosecution by the U.S. government, he said. Prosecutors said Neteller in 2005 alone processed more than $7.3 billion in financial transactions, 95 percent of which was derived from money transfers involving Internet gambling. Lawrence and Lefebvre were charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted."

14. According to Neteller's website, the actions taken today will not affect international users of Neteller, including withdraw options and InstaCash.

15. Neteller has not left the U.S. market. InstaCash is simply disabled for American users of the virtual wallet. The deposit methods available are given in #8 above. While a pullout from the U.S. market is one of the many possibilities that exist, it has not yet happened.

16. The charges were file in the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District in New York.

We will be adding credible information to this post as that information comes in and is verified by the staff of PocketFives.com.


Jack or mods

If this is not ok just delete

[TravisPH]

I don't know whether to call myself brave or stupid, but I just started a $3,000 deposit via EFT with Neteller. The transfer should be complete next Tuesday.
I want to have some extra money for my BetJM account, and I really don't want to get into all the crap the other options make you go through...If worse comes to worse... I won't lose the money..... Hopefully.

[johnny1212]

Neteller has removed insta cash from the US.