In a development that started no less than two weeks ago, checks issued from payment processors for popular poker rooms PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker began bouncing when poker players attempted to cashed them at U.S. banks. During the same period of time, popular deposit and withdrawal method “Instant eChecks” were unavailable at the same card rooms for unknown reasons. Amid widespread speculation and rumor, there has been no official comment from neither PokerStars nor Full Tilt Poker regarding the controversy. The lack of official communication from the poker rooms has left numerous poker players wondering about their bankrolls.
Some gaming-related and news sites are reporting that the US Attorney’s office in New York is behind the closure of particular Instant eCheck branches and have even seized funds, but no comments or announcements have been made by the Poker Players Alliance, the US Attorney’s Office or the company that manages the eChecks Corporation. One statement has been posted on businesswire.com as an official press release from eCheck saying, “… the online gaming community erupted into speculation when it was learned that echeck poker deposits were down for all sites. However, it appears for now, that a solution has been found. The Cereus Network … has begun accepting echecks again.” Further in the press release it states that, “It is unknown how quickly other sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt will be able to restore the echeck deposit method to their network.”
Within the press release there’s some speculation that the UIGEA and US Attorney General’s office might believe to be behind the snag. However, the representatives for echecks were unavailable for official comment at the time of this article’s publication. EcommerceJournal.com is reporting that the US Attorney is indeed behind the banning of Instant eCheck transactions, “… the Attorney General’s office in New York State has stepped in to address the issues related to this particular payment service. The office forced the closedown of the payment processor and it is also rumored to have seized money from both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker…”
Checks sent from payment processors in and around the time period of May 26th – June 2nd from both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars were reported to have bounced. One of the staff members here at PokerNewsDaily.com received a check dated June 1st and before hearing the scandal, cashed the check at their local bank. After hearing the news via the 2p2 forums, this person contacted PokerStars support asking about any potential issues with the check clearing. Seven hours later (usually PokerStars support responds within an hour) this e-mail response was received:
Thank you for your email.
I have reviewed your account and can confirm that the check you received is not one of the checks affected by this current issue. Therefore the check will clear as normal. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further assistance.
Best Regards,
Martin
PokerStars Payment Services
It appears that only certain checks issued by the poker rooms were affected by the “current issue” which has yet to be officially defined. Currently, there has been no official comment from the PPA (Poker Players Alliance), a gaming-rights advocacy group that has gained influence in Washington. Requests for comments from PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were not immediately returned.
Meanwhile other poker rooms are going on the record that everything is business as usual. In a conversation exclusive to PokerNewsDaily.com, Morris Mohawk Gaming Group’s CEO Alwyn Morris (who manages Bodog.com), said, “Bodog has not been experiencing any difficulties with checks being returned or bouncing, and we have no plans to remove checks as a payout option. Players have been able to withdraw funds from their accounts using all of our normal payout methods without incident. We have put a number of processes and partnerships in place to ensure our players are able to safely and securely withdraw funds from their accounts as quickly and easily as possible.”
Similarly, a source at the Cake Poker network says that, “It’s business as usual for us as we’re not exposed to any of the eCheck and bounced check problems that other rooms are having at the moment.”
As official comments come in from other poker rooms and the PPA, PokerNewsDaily.com will be reporting the latest information as it is received or announced.