US players are looking for alternatives to Neteller...which is proving difficult

19.01.2007

US players searching for alternatives to Neteller in order to continue playing online were faced with obstacles and frustration this week, with inefficient e-wallet signup sites, poor communications and a US-availability scenario that seemed to change by the hour.

Message boards and blogs across the industry lit up with exchanges of information, angry exclamations and even despair as American players showed that they are determined to gamble online, but need efficient and professional e-wallets to give them access.

It's a business worth having; Neteller processed over $7 billion in transactions in 2005 and $5.1 billion in the first half of 2006, mostly from U.S. clients to and from online betting sites. By some accounts, that amounted to roughly half of the global market for online wagers.

Yet players were experiencing problems signing up, getting information and in some cases found their existing accounts at alternative e-wallets locked for no apparent reason.

The fluid nature of the crisis accepted, the following was the list of alternatives as we went to press this week:

Available to US players

.Click2Pay (but there have been reports of lock-outs and this is therefore not certain)
·eWalletXpress
·UseMyBank
·EZIPay
·Ecocard
·EveryWhereMoney
.ePassporte
.Moneybookers
.ATMOnline

The following have abandoned the US market:

·Neteller
·Neteller InstaCash
·Citadel
·Instadebit
·Echeck
.Nexus
.Central Coin

Players still have bank wire and other more conventional methods of transferring money, although the use of US-issued credit cards has been generally problematical for some time due to restrictions placed on this method by US banks.

Inevitably in a fast-moving crisis such as this, confusion and frustration breeds and it is important that the companies involved communicate efficiently and as directly as possible with their clients - even if certain companies are on their way out of the US business.

This is a professional obligation to the customer that must be respected, but regrettably that does not appear to be the priority. Companies like Neteller seem more intent on placating investors than easing the pain and huge inconvenience that their abrupt and badly communicated withdrawal is causing to players.

Exacerbating an already bad situation is a volatile combination of clearly inadequate planning by companies for an "orderly withdrawal" and anxious players who are swamping e-wallet sites that do not seem to have enough resources to efficiently handle the rush. Despite corporate statements that the withdrawal has been in the works since last November the unsatisfactory service, payment delays and general confusion indicate otherwise.

For those companies that intend to capitalise on the withdrawal from the US by Neteller et al, now is the time to get the ducks in a row to ensure that players are welcomed and not discouraged from signing up due to inefficient sites or ill-briefed Support reps.