Neteller has dropped a bomb on Canadian online poker players, stating that they will be removing the ability to fund or withdraw from online poker and other online gambling sites by mid April.
Canadian residents must be wondering what is going on, as no anti-gambling legislation has been passed in Canada. This is a case of Neteller assessing their risk profile. Neteller has its main offices in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and has obviously decided to discontinue gambling operations in Canada, for fear of getting into trouble later. It is the same reason why Bodog doesn't allow Canadian residents to play at their sites.
As of April 9th, Canadian residents will no longer will able to use Neteller to fund their accounts at online gaming merchants. With immediate effect, Canadian residents will not be able to use InstaCASH transactions to fund their online poker accounts.
Neteller has stated that Canadian accounts will still be able to be used for non-gambling transactions, but I mean really; who uses Neteller for anything other than gaming transactions?
Canadians now face the same trouble that Americans face in getting their money online; most of the major e-wallets have now pulled out of Canada as well, and Canadians don't even have anti-gambling legislation. I guess Canadians are guilty by association. It seems ridiculous to me, but that's the world that we live in now.
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Filed Under: Poker Legislation