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Online Gambling: Customers Finding It Harder to Receive Their Money

August  4, 2008

I posed that question last week after I had been reading about gamblers complaining about bounced checks and being told it was going to take longer to get their money

Here are some responses. I have withheld names from these submissions for obvious reasons.

Reply #1:
"I am an avid online gambler who had cashed checks from Zip Payments without any problem up until the most recent check I deposited, which was on July 1st. I went to Puerto Rico, spent the money, since I assumed it had cleared like always, only to return and see my account was overdrawn. And the interesting part is I had deposited another check from Zip Payments only about a week earlier and had no problem, This is causing a great distress in my life since I am a full time college student who relies on my handicapping ability to provide me spending money while I am still in school."

Reply #2:
"I know you are looking for stories to support your theory that the government has shut down gambling payments to US residents. However, I have a story about making deposits and withdrawals right through my major USA bank. As of yesterday, I was processing deposits and withdrawals through my bank... as do most all gamblers inside the USA. This issue is all about personal freedom. The government has no right under the Constitution to tell me what I can or can't do with my money."

Reply #3:
"I've always been a regular viewer of CNBC and based on what I do for a living I was very happy to see a reputable network cover this story. I am an inactive CPA and play poker (primarily online) for a living...At the end of the day, this is an indirect effect of the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act a few years ago, which legally hasn't changed anything yet, but seems to be motivating the DOJ to crack down on sports gambling, which often gets lumped in with other forms of gambling like poker. It continues to affect professional poker players negatively and threaten the health of the games, even if the games don't get completely shut down."

Reply #4:
"Without exception, every one of those sites takes significantly longer than they did pre-UIGEA. Whereas Neteller and Paypal were almost instantaneous, my “expectation” now is at least 30 calendar days. My last check from Bodog took almost 45 days. The previous one was 30 days and the ones before that were right about 10-15 days. But, I have also found that most sites are actively working to find new ways to get money to its customers. The challenges seem to be on the banking side. For example, I have received multiple checks from Bodog and up until the last one, every check was from a different bank. That tells me that they are having trouble with their US banks. There is one site that actually is attempting to make it look like you are on their payroll. They send you a debit card and then process your “payroll” check when you withdraw. Then, you go to an ATM and get the money. All of these seem to be creative ways to work around a silly law that is almost unenforceable. So, in conclusion, this is a billion dollar business, and therefore, because of that, these sites will find ways to make sure their customers get paid. It might be a bit shady, but their business life depends on keeping a fairly spotless record."

Read the full article here.

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