ePassporte.com remains an option for U.S. players

By Ryan McLane
29 January 2007


ePassporte.com remains a viable e-wallet service for U.S. Internet poker players, although new customers can expect some significant delays when trying to establish a functional account.

The service is one of the few financial processors remaining for American online gamblers. NETeller, Citadel, INSTAdebit and InstaCash all left the U.S. market following the arrests of NETeller co-founders Stephen Lawrence and John LeFebvre by U.S. authorities.

Click2Pay, one of the largest online gaming processors, still accepts American transactions, but does not allow players from the U.S. to open new accounts.

Major sites accepting ePassporte include Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, and Doyle's Room.

ePassporte test run

A Casino City reporter attempted to sign up for a new ePassporte account on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The registration process was simple, requiring basic user information and a verification email. This part went smoothly and an account was established within minutes.

But loading money into the new account was a completely different story. First, the reporter needed to wait until ePassporte made micro-deposits into a designated bank account.

After checking the bank account every day for 10 days, the long-awaited micro-deposits arrived on Jan. 25.

Once the amounts of the micro-deposits were verified by ePassporte in a simple Web form, the reporter was then asked to load his account with money from the bank account.

The reporter attempted a $50 deposit and received a message that the transaction will require up to seven business days to complete.

While the process is a far cry from the Instacash options once available through NETeller, ePassporte does remain a choice for patient gamers looking to reload their online casino accounts.

Absolute finds a way

Other sites, like Absolute Poker, are also finding ways to get players their money.

The same Casino City reporter signed up for a new Absolute Poker account after hearing that they process debit card transactions for American players.

The reporter went through the normal process of signing up for a player account. Once that was done, the reporter chose the Visa-card option under the Cashier tab and attempted to load $50 into the new account.

The Visa-debit card transaction went through, but a message appeared asking the reporter to call and verify the information.

The phone call took 30 minutes from start to finish, but once completed, Absolute Poker allowed the reporter to use his $50 on the site along with a 100 percent bonus for signing up.

There was one caveat. If the reporter wants to continue processing transactions at Absolute Poker, including withdrawals, he must send in a form with information that includes a rubbing of the actual debit card.

PokerListings.com Offers the Latest Breaking News and Opinions on NETeller and More

PokerListings.com, the world's largest online poker guide, has the most up-to-the-minute, accurate and relevant information on all the latest events transpiring in the poker world. They have the latest on payment-processing options for American players, poker rooms committed to the American market, and insight and opinion from inside the poker industry on NETeller, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and everything of interest to the contemporary poker player.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (PRWeb) January 25, 2007 -- As the world's largest online poker guide, PokerListings.com has helped support and foster the online poker-playing community since 2003, and is committed to providing up-to-the-minute, accurate and relevant information on all the latest events transpiring in the poker world

The arrests of NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre -- and the subsequent withdrawal of some e-wallet providers from the American market -- have naturally led to dramatic speculation and unfounded observation from questionable authorities as to the present and future of online poker.

Most of the rumors couldn't be further from the truth. All of the major poker rooms -- UltimateBet, Bodog.com, PokerStars.com, Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker -- have indicated they remain committed to American players, and all have continued to accept deposits, pay out accounts and process transactions for their players with little difficulty.

A few e-wallet providers have temporarily withdrawn from processing new accounts until recent legislation surrounding the UIGEA is clarified, but most are still able to process payouts to existing American accounts. Plenty of options continue to be available for poker room transactions including Click2Pay, ePassporte, EcoCard and Western Union, to name just a few. New payment options are springing up quickly alongside the old stand-bys, tournaments are proceeding as planned and millions of poker players around the world, within the United States and without, remain committed to their game.

Poker players the world over turn to PokerListings.com daily for all the critical information they need and have come to expect from the online poker resource. Regular updates on the status of all the major poker rooms, payment processors and the current situation as it unfolds will continue to be posted, not to mention the same great editorial content on everything of interest to poker players including ongoing live and online tournament coverage from around the world.

About PokerListings.com
PokerListings.com (http://www.pokerlistings.com) was launched in 2003 and quickly became the largest online poker guide. This free-to-use website provides poker players across the globe with in-depth analysis of all major online poker rooms as well as the world's best online poker deals, including sign-up bonuses and promotional offers, and detailed content on poker strategy, tournaments, news, and freerolls.

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U.S. Internet gambling deposit options shrinking

The list of payment processors for American gamblers is shrinking rapidly in the wake of money laundering charges being filed against NETeller co-founders Stephen Lawrence and John LeFebvre.

NETeller, the world's largest online payment processor for Internet gamblers, and Citadel pulled out of the U.S. market Wednesday night.

And over the weekend, INSTADEBIT left the U.S. entirely while Click2Pay pushed the pause button on allowing new American accounts.

"Account registrations and transfers to and from merchants from your country of residence are denied due to the U.S. law," a recorded message on INSTADEBIT's customer service line informs U.S. callers. "If you have a balance in your INSTADEBIT account, you can log in to your account profile and withdraw the balance to your bank account. Please contact security at security@instadebit.com with any further questions. Thank you."

And while Click2Pay is still allowing existing customers to conduct business as usual with Internet gambling sites, as of Jan. 19, they are no longer opening new accounts for U.S. customers. Click2Pay would not comment on whether it would change its policy or if it has a timeline in which to do so.

The sudden lack of options for American gamblers is a huge sea change in just a week's time. While Poker Stars lists 17 deposit methods, only one (ePassporte) still accepts U.S. customers. Full Tilt has also pulled several deposit options, with Click2Pay, ePassporte and MoneyGram cash transfers being the only remaining options for Americans.

Absolute Poker, however, has moved past third-party payment processors and into processing credit card transactions. Transactions are not coded as Internet gambling transactions, and instead are processed by an outside company that appears as GLOBAL with a 1-800 number on credit card statements.

Online Poker Room Review: Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker has been on a tear as of late, both in expanding their player base as well as their stable of site pros. Every night, over 15,000 players flock to Absolute's wide selection of cash games and tournaments. And if they're lucky, they might just get the chance to test their skills against top professionals and WSOP champions such as Mark Seif, Brandon Cantu, Sean McCabe, Casey Kastle, Lacey Jones and Card Player's 2006 Player of the Year Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi. On any given night you might find Sean McCabe check-raising you in a $25-50 limit hold'em game or Mark Seif demonstrating the art of the pressure raise in a no-limit tournament. And, if your game is sharp enough, you just might get to play the 2005 double-bracelet winner heads-up for a cool grand.


Each week, Absolute's tournament leader board winner is invited to participate in the exclusive "Mark Seif Shootout." Beat Seif headsup and you'll pocket $1,000. Players will also find Seif as well as many of Absolute's other resident pros in their $200+16, $100,000 guaranteed tournament which runs on Saturday afternoons. Better yet, each participating pro has a bounty on his or her head in this tournament. Knock out one, and win double your tournament buy-in.


Though most other online poker sites do offer a slightly larger starting stack in their big weekly tournaments (say, 2000 or 2500 chips instead of 1500), Absolute gives players even more room to maneuver with a 5000 chip starting stack. Satellites for players at every level are available for the $100K, including freeroll qualifiers which run five times a day.


Over a million dollars a month are awarded in Absolute's "guaranteed" tournaments. From a $5 NLHE freezeout that guarantees a $1500 prize pool to the $30 NLHE rebuy that guarantees $11,000, there is a choice for every bankroll. Sick of hold'em? Omaha 8/b, pot-limit Omaha, stud, stud 8/b, and razz multi-table tournaments are running all day and night. Absolute also spreads multiple daily rebuy tournaments, but with a cool twist not found on other sites.


Though players start with the typical 1500 chips, are allowed to rebuy throughout the first hour, and can take an add-on at the end of the rebuy period, Absolute offers a double add-on of 4000 chips as well as the typical single add-on of 2000. Deep stacks can also be found in Absolute's "super stack" tourneys, that offer 2500 chips to start, even at low buy-in levels.


Dreaming of playing in the World Series of Poker this summer? You can start your satellite quest early on Absolute, where Main Event qualifiers are already running. Players can directly buy in to Absolute's $100+8 NLHE satellites, which award $11,000 WSOP main event packages, or they can grind up that buy-in through sub-qualifiers with bargain basement prices. For only $1, a player can earn a seat into a $10 qualifier, which in turn awards seats to the $108 tourneys. What if you want to play poker on TV but without the stress of a $10K buy-in? Satellites to the nationally televised "Ultimate Poker Challenge" (currently underway at Binion's in downtown Las Vegas) are also running on Absolute. Winners of these satellites come away with buy-ins to three different Ultimate Poker Challenge events- two $330 buy-in events and a $660 buy-in event. Multi-table and sitn- go UPC qualifiers start at only $2.75.


Game stuck in a rut? Want to learn from some of the world's best? The WPT Boot Camp could be the answer you're looking for, and Absolute is running satellite tournaments that pay out camp prize packages. A $13 satellite could send you well on your way toward learning from poker's greatest players.


Absolute has also implemented an excellent VIP program that rewards their frequent players. A player can achieve one of three different levels (VIP, Platinum, or Elite) based on how many player points he or she accrues in a month. Absolute VIPs enjoy special freeroll tournaments, receive invites to VIP parties and events, earn their player points up to three times faster and gain access to Absolute's exclusive VIP store where they can use their points to purchase anything from tournament buy-ins to laptop computers, to a trip for 2 to Costa Rica.


Absolute Poker still welcomes U.S. players despite the passage of the anti-gambling legislation- in fact, their traffic has grown significantly ever since. Especially given their early-bird WSOP satellites, there has never been a better time to give the games at Absolute a try. You might just bust a bracelet winner in the process.

by Nicole Gordon filed under Card Rooms [Originally appeared in the January 22, 2007 issue of Poker Player]

For students, lure of money is everywhere

The poker players sparkle like celebrities on cable TV, often sitting coolly in sunglasses while raking in their chips.

The poker players sparkle like celebrities on cable TV, often sitting coolly in sunglasses while raking in their chips.

The gambling industry sells itself by marketing the kind of high-stakes wins that are routine for only a few. It's a potent lure, and one that many college students -- already high-risk takers -- pay attention to. Some marketing is aimed directly at them: "win your tuition" tournaments, fliers on campus kiosks, offers for fraternity fundraising.

It's not hard to find opportunities to gamble if you're a college student.

The start-up Sigma Pi fraternity at the University of Minnesota didn't even have a house yet when a poker website came calling last summer.

"I thought that your fraternity may be in need of some fundraising, and I might be able to help," read the e-mail from someone who works for Absolute Poker. The message offered to hold an online tournament and donate money for everyone who participated.

"To my knowledge, that was the first piece of advertising our fraternity received," fraternity treasurer Craig Bantz said.

Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Club tries to bring young people into gaming responsibly so they become part of the park's customer base when they're older, said Kevin Gorg, media relations manager. "We're all about the long-term investment," he said. "We're not trying to, you know, scam people into getting involved with it on a short-term basis and diving in for money they can't afford to lose. We're all about educating our fans."

Absolute Poker and other websites have been aggressive in courting the college market. Absolute, for instance, advertised a "Win Your Tuition" tournament, internships in Costa Rica, jobs as campus representatives -- even a chance to be a "College Spokesmodel."

At the University of Minnesota, coupons offering a $100 sign-up bonus at www.partypoker.com were tucked into poker books at the campus bookstore last fall. University officials say the coupons violated bookstore policies, and they removed them.

Card Player magazine, around since 1998, published a college edition in 2005 and 2006. "There's a lot of 21-year-old kids who learn to play poker online and they become very, very good at the game very quickly," said Justin Marchand, who was executive editor of the college edition. Many participants in big poker events came from the college market, he said.


Pam Louwagie • plouwagie@startribune.com

Absolute Poker offers $100k guaranteed weekly

A new year seems to be bringing with it bigger and better promotions from all the major poker sites. Absolute Poker is no exception with the addition of a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournament that will leave the top player with at least $25,000.

The weekly tournament takes place each Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (EST) and has $200+$16 buy-in. All the players start with 5,000 in poker chips and the other top 54 players will split the remaining $75,000 of the prize pool.

There are also freerolls, real-money qualifiers and satellites that run daily through which players can win their way into the $100,000 event.

The top three players of the $100K daily freerolls will automatically advance to the weekly event. All players at the poker site receive one entry into a daily $100k Qualifier freeroll and then must earn 50 points before they are eligible again.

The daily satellite qualifiers will get players into a daily real-money qualifier. They vary in cost and the amount of players that will move on. The daily real-money qualifiers will get players into the $100K event.

Once a player has qualified for the weekly guaranteed tournament, their name will appear in the lobby of the $100K Weekly.

Adding to the excitement and opportunities to get more cash, the $100K weekly will feature pros such as Michael Mizrachi making guest appearances. Players who knock the pro out of the tournament will receive a bounty jackpot.

For more information or to get in on the fun, visit Absolute Poker.

Is poker game of skill or chance?

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters Life!) - A court in East London is expected to decide this week whether poker is a game of skill, chance or a combination of both.
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A jury has been asked to weigh up the role played by Lady Luck in the world's most popular card game, after police accused a club owner of illegally hosting a poker session and levying winnings and stakes without a license.

Britain's Gambling Act states that a license is needed for hosting a game of chance but not those of skill, like chess.

Derek Kelly, owner of the Gutshot private club in central London, has been accused of breaking the law on two occasions -- December, 2004 and January, 2005. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In theory the judgment, expected on Tuesday or Wednesday at Snaresbrook Crown Court, could have repercussions for poker clubs across Britain, which claim booming membership. Gutshot says it has around 23,000 members.

Britain's online gaming sector is already in upheaval, after the United States effectively banned online gambling last year in a move that wiped billions of pounds (dollars) off the value of Internet gaming companies.

Britain opposes the U.S. ban, but has said it would not protect British gaming executives from U.S. extradition requests if they took bets from countries where they were illegal.

SHUFFLE INTRODUCES CHANCE

Last week the prosecution's lawyer, Graham Trembath, said the jury would have to decide whether poker was a game of skill, or luck, or both.

The fact that the pack of cards was shuffled before a game introduced a significant element of chance, he added.

If the jurors decide poker is a game of chance alone or a mixture of chance and skill, then the jury should find Kelly guilty, the prosecution said.

On its Web site, the country's Gambling Commission that regulates the sector in Britain, states:

"Whilst there are different levels of skill amongst poker players, the Gaming Act makes clear that even games of skill and chance combined are games of chance."

But Gutshot argues there is a significant element of skill in poker, and that the game is being unfairly singled out under the law. They say golf, even chess, is partly down to chance.

Barry Martin, chief executive of Gutshot who has been at the trial, wants the law to differentiate between casino games like roulette and poker.

"We say there are no games in the world, not one, that are pure skill," he told Reuters. "Chess has some form of chance.

"Poker is on trial here. We are saying poker should be moved into the 21st century and should be allowed to be played outside the hard gaming area of casinos."

He expects the trial to wind up on Tuesday or Wednesday.

source

Absolute Making Poker Dreams Come True

Absolute Dream Package Poker Promotion Now Taking Place

An absolute dream for many poker players would have them be able to play in a handful of World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker events for free. AbsolutePoker.com is doing it.

The online poker site is now running The Absolute Dream Package, a series of tournaments in which the winner receives entry into 10 tournaments, including five WPT events and the WSOP main event.

Click here to take advantage of a deposit bonus offered through CardPlayer.com.

The prize package is worth $125,000, and, aside from the WPT and WSOP events, includes entry into the $10,000 Ultimate Poker Challenge, entry to Absolute Poker’s $100,000 weekly guaranteed for a year (worth $11,232), plus almost $18,000 to use towards traveling expenses. The winner will also receive about $26,000 to play in an undisclosed televised high-stakes poker game.

There are three ways to earn an entry into the championship tourney that takes place March 4. The easy way would be to buy in to the event for what it costs, which is $216. But plenty of players will have gotten in through one of the many freeroll tournaments that are running from now until championship day.

The freerolls cost 50 player points, and every player at AbsolutePoker.com already received entry into either this qualifier or the ones to the weekend $100,000 guaranteed tourneys. Points can be earned by playing real cash games at AbsolutePoker.com.

Real-money qualifiers are also taking place at the site. Absolute Poker is holding two tiers: $3.30 and $27 qualifiers. Play in the low one to get into the $27 qualifier, where seats to the championship will be won.

Please click here to visit the site, take advantage of the deposit bonus, and to find out more about this promotion.

source: Cardplayer.com