Neteller in Maryland

[Rushmore]

I searched, but did not find, so...

I have recently moved to Baltimore from Florida (long story). Whenever I move, I close and empty all online accounts, ait to get settled, and then crank everything back up again. I'm not sure why, I just find I am most comfortable doing it this way during the turbulent move month.

So I cashed out a lot of dollars from the three sites I play, cashed out this large-ish sum through Neteller, moved, and then, last week, redeposited $5K.

So today it still had not cleared. I call Neteller, and am immediately transferred to "VIP Services." Right.

They inform me that since I am CALLING from Maryland, they cannot process the $5K, regardless of where I might technically live, etc., because Maryland does not permit Neteller to operate (whatever that means).

Huh?

So now, they are shipping the $5K back to my checking account.

Now, I need to figure out an alternative to Neteller. This will feel like trying to sign my name with my left hand. I can't imagine online poker without Neteller.

I am not inclined to try to trick Neteller (fake addresses, whatever) into allowing me to use the service anymore, even though I think it would be fairly simple.

That said, what is the best alternative?

[kross]

Firepay.

If you're using only Party sites, you can use their IGM Pay thing instead.

[Aerofoil]

I live in MD and I experienced this Neteller problem when I first started playing online. I couldn't register for Neteller. Maryland isn't even listed in the dropdown state list when entering your address. I called them and they said that due to some MD law, Neteller isn't allowed to operate there. 49 other states allow you to use Neteller, MD is the only one with this crazy law. I'm not sure what law it is, probably not directly written against Neteller but something broader.

As for other options, Party has an easy one. IGM-pay links directly to your checking account after being verified and transfers go directly back and forth between your checking account and Party with no transfer fees.

For playing outside Party, your options are a little more limited. I signed up for Firepay. Its similar to Neteller in that you first deposit money from your checking account to Firepay and then deposit from Firepay to poker sites. Unfortunately there is a $3.99 fee per deposit from your checking account to Firepay. After that there's no fees to transfer money between poker sites and Firepay or withdraw from Firepay. Also you have to give Firepay your SSN to verify identity which is a little sketchy.

[Hellmouth]

I use firepay also. No problems. You will get a call from some guy with a caribean accent at the telephone # you give to confirm your account. Thats a little sketchy also. Otherwise no problem.

Greg

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
You will get a call from some guy with a caribean accent at the telephone # you give to confirm your account. Thats a little sketchy also.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol

[Vuron00]

I had this same problem a few years ago and was wondering if the rules were the same. I moved from MD about a year ago, so I don't have to deal with this anymore.

I ended up going with IGMPay for Party and used Central Coin for Stars. I never had any problems getting my money from Party as it got deposited directly to my checking account from IGM.

I never tried to withdrawel from Stars. I had a friend who I could transfer money to and he would just give me cash.

I beleive the explanation that I got was that Neteller wouldn't agree to follow Maryland's "banking" laws and that MD wouldn't recognize them, so you can't use Neteller in Maryland.

[cdxx]

i am having this problem right now as well. i registered with my brother's address, but then i wanted to see if i could change the address to MD after certifying. so i asked in online chat if i can do that. they referred me to account policies and wouldn't answer any questions. this morning my account was closed. i called, and they were helpful in getting me the account balance back. they told me that i should call them when i move away from MD. i'll try that in a few months (my phone number is not MD area code, btw) when i go back there (though not permanently). i guess i'll post results.

btw, the law that neteller won't comply with is the following. MD requires all financial institutions to either be registered in MD or have a lawyer in MD, in case on of MD residents has a problem. Neteller is canadian, so there's no way they want to be registered or even have a presence here.

P.S. I used IGM-Pay for over a year but it was pretty slow, so i switched to Neteller, and the two weeks that it was active, it was great. it sucks Party doesn't cash out to Firepay.

does anyone use ePassporte? better/worse than IGMPay? are their fees too much? what exactly is load/reload? do PP transactions count as load/reload?

[cardcounter0]

ePassporte is more of a scam than an actual service.

better/worse than IGMPay? Much worse.

are their fees too much? Yes.

what exactly is load/reload? deposit/withdrawl

do PP transactions count as load/reload? Everything counts as a transaction (with a fee attached, of course) and there is a fee for not generating enough fees.

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
so i asked in online chat if i can do that. they referred me to account policies and wouldn't answer any questions. this morning my account was closed

[/ QUOTE ]

I got the impression that they were essentially saying "We don't care what the hell you do, just so long as your address and telephone numbers are not in Maryland."

In other words, it seems as if they were saying that if you do not alert them to the fact that you are in MD, then they cannot claim to know that you are in MD, and their collective butt would be covered.

Hence the no response at all, hoping you'll just stop asking so they can claim ignorance.

[cdxx]

you are probably right. but they still closed my account. bastards...

OT: anyone know the story on PartyPoker and Firepay cashout option? what is going on there? older articles showing up on google seem to point out that it was actually available at some point?