[Nate tha\\\' Great]

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Neteller may extend credit but they are not a US Co. Unless I am missing something, Neteller could still be used to do whatever you want...with the possible exeption of wire transfers between them and your bank. Hard to believe Neteller transactions could be blocked (due to the much discussed fact that they are used for tons more than gambling transfers), but if they were wouldn't new sites pop up everyday? This is exactly what the banks are concerned about, they would need constantly updated lists of wire transfer bad guys. I am sure the poker sites will offer a few suggested methods of funding and cashing out accounts that fish can deal with... they do now.

That said, I hope they stick to credit cards. They would have almost zero opposition if they went this route.

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I've gotta be honest -- I've always been a pessimist on the Neteller loophole scenarios. What good is Neteller if you can't get the money into your bank? Yeah, I suppose you could jump through enough hoops, and transfer money from Neteller to Third Party to Fourth Party to your bank, and make things blurry enough that it's no longer recognized as an internet gambling transaction, but I don't think a lot of casual players are going to want to do that. Moreover, while the banks surely HATE the idea of having to police transactions, the history on this kind of thing (e.g. with credit card transactions) suggests that they will do so with some vigor if this becomes law.

I'm hoping that pressure from banking/gaming lobbying groups, Senators who might have had a hold on the original legislation, and members of the Armed Services Committee who are opposed to Frist's parliamentary tactics will be enough to deter the banking langauge from being inserted into the DoD bill. But if the bill passes with that langauge included, I'm not optimstic about the near-term future of online poker.