Exchange Rates: The Stealth Rake

[kev]

How many of you non-US guys has this happened to: you make a deposit from your bank and the exchange rate used to change from your local currency (mine is pounds sterling) to US$ is lower than the actual. Then you find some easy games to play and you play better than your opponents but have some bad luck, either bad beats or a long cold run of cards, and finish with about 5% up on your original US dollar amount. Then you cash out back to your local currency. When it arrives in your account you find it's less than what you originally put in. Although you "won" you actually lost.

As far as I can tell most poker sites do this, and if you are playing middle or high stakes games this hit with the exchange rate could actually be higher than the actual rate!! I know that at party they can send you a cheque in US dollars but my local bank then charges me an unfair exchange rate when I deposit it.

What is the law on how much poker sites are allowed to alter the exchange rates to screw us out of our money? Have you got any tips on how to minimise these extra fees? Thanks.