May 2010 US Updates
For more updates visit our US online poker sites page for full details on recent happenings.
May 31
11:01am – Ok, the traffic analysis is finished, you can see it on the bottom line of the chart above. With pokerstars killing it, I see them dropping in coming months. Even though Full Tilt Poker has dropped as of late, I feel they will pick up traffic. Also, even though I don’t have Absolutepoker/Ultimatebet on my chart I predict they will fair well after the UIGEA.
May 31
10:08am – As tomorrow can be considered a “landmark” event for online gaming, I will be conducting a player traffic analysis the next couple hours. I will also conduct one in a couple days to show the impact on player traffic the implementation of the UIGEA has.
May 30
4:21pm – American Express is no longer an option at any online poker site. Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet have pulled them due to payment processing issues. No timeframe was given as to when or if they would be back up.
May 30
3:35am – I got a notice in the mail after sorting letters from last week. It was from my VISA credit card. There was a VERY interesting notice at the bottom of it. It specifically states that it is not their fault if you use your credit card for “illegal gambling transactions”, which we all know to only address sportsbook. Here is the image.
May 30
3:35am – Browsing the forums at twoplustwo and others it appears Netspend is the first casualty of the UIGEA. They are emailing customers saying they will comply with the UIGEA and have already begun declining transactions. Netspend is a reloadable pre-paid debit card by Visa.
May 30
3:05am – I just got back in town from the iGaming Super Show in the Czech Republic. I talked to as many operators as I could about the upcoming UIGEA in 2 days. There were a drastic array of answers as to what they expect for depositing. One casino operator (large US based) felt it was going to get really bad, while on the other hand Bodog felt there would definitely be an impact but not nearly as much as those who are being pessimistic (AP and UB were also on the pessimistic/worried side). Bodog felt more ewallets would crop up, and his biggest fear is the current Mastercard selling their information to VISA about blocking payments. Despite this I can say at least Bodog has a pretty crafty way to spot the people that want to shut them down….
In summary everyone is going to have to adjust and the impression I got was nobody was really talking about it, and we were the only ones initiating the conversations about it so I can’t imagine they are all THAT worried. A ton of business was going on as if the UIGEA wasn’t a couple days away. Too many ways around it, too much demand, and too much money to be made. I can’t remember who but we were talking with one operator and depositing costs are exceeding 10%. As this will certainly increase, many small US poker sites and skins will fall off the planet and disappear.
May 23
6:00pm – I am going to let J. Todd make the weekly updates this week as I have been out, and am currently in Prage for the iGaming Super Show. There will be a conference and speakers on behalf of the US situation that I will be sure to post if they come up with anything we haven’t heard before.
May 15
6:00pm – John Pappas made the following statement regarding the upcoming UIGEA law.
“We don’t suspect this to be a doomsday scenario for online poker. To be clear, it is not going to be unlawful for you, the poker player, to play internet poker. Deposits are the open question and we believe that there will always be a mechanism for players to deposit money through responsible channels online.” Source: Pokernewsdaily.com
May 12
11:36pm – Here is the last few days US online gambling news in brief: The man, David Rennick, who was charged with facilitating gambling transactions for US players has plead guilty. He will forfeit $17 million USD, and face allegedly only 6-12 months in jail. Also the PPA is petitioning to the Federal Reserve to amend the law so that peer to peer games such as poker would not be included in the upcoming (19 days and counting) UIGEA law. Also, earlier this week Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada was speculated to upping in interest in legalized online gambling for games such as poker. Consensus seems to vary depending on who you talk to regarding June 1, 2010 when the UIGEA must be enforced. For the most part, many feel it will be not much different than what poker players/online gamblers currently experience when depositing and withdrawing.
May 9
2:37 am – Partygaming is looking to get ahead of the curve in the US if legalization occurs. They have set up a 38 person staff in Los Angeles California. Also, apparently there are a number of US land based gaming operators approaching Partygaming for software and business to business deals. Other than that, the Party Gaming CEO gave the usual bla bla bla speech about new laws and current laws going through the process and that they think legislation could happen as early as this year. (insert eye rolls here). That same speech will continue for years in my opinion…
