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Centrebet- closed all US accounts...why?

7K views 63 replies 20 participants last post by  its.like.that 
#1 ·
i got this email this morning...:confused:

Centrebet is suspending the accounts of US resident clients from 26th September 2006.



Recent developments in United States law have forced Centrebet to suspend all accounts of clients resident in the United States effective from 26th September 2006.

According to our records you are one of the accounts affected by this change. If you are not resident in the United States, please contact our customer services department so that we can update our records and continue to service your account with the best prices on the widest range of sports.

If we do not hear from you, please be aware that you will be unable to log on to Centrebet from 26th Septemberr 2006. After this date any funds in your account will be settled (if you instruct us to do so).

Please note we are required by law to verify your identity (if we have not already done so) before we can return funds to you.

If at any time you become resident outside the US we will be delighted to re-open your account.

We apologise for any inconvenience,
 
G
#7 · (Edited)
Hate to break it to you Seinfeld....Port Security Bill was passed over the weekend:

Congress Passes Bill to Curb Online Gambling

It Was Snuck Through on the Back of Port Security Bill.

It took a backdoor move by the Senate Majority leader, but the bill designed to curb online gambling in the United States has passed.
Sen. Bill Frist helped get the Internet gambling ban attached to a defense bill designed to boost security at nation’s ports. The bill passed Saturday.

The bill calls for banks to work with the federal government to stop transactions between customers in the U.S. and offshore gaming companies.
The bill makes it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make transactions with online gambling companies.

The bill considers online poker a form of gambling. Recently, online poker sites have worked harder to expand its customer base outside the United States, where about 80-percent of online poker players live.

The bill will not target player but does call for prison time for people who run online gaming companies. Banks that don’t comply by the bill may also face punishment. A representive from the Independent Community Bankers of America testified to the House that its members will have trouble enforcing the act.

The United States is moving in an opposite direction concerning this issue compared to the rest of the world. The United Kingdom recently moved to tax and regulate online gambling sites, and the European Union had made it clear that it considers online gambling a product that should be allowed to be freely traded.

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Forget about the gambling aspect - this is why I would never live in the US, when you got politicians making decisions like this :wavey:
 
#9 ·
BG - Yes it covers, neteller, paypal presumably western union and a few others. This is a HUGE deal and a major blow. Be careful with the books your in right now. Alot of the smaller books might be going out of business due to this. This is a great article we posted at our forum which is a US based forum.

Here it is best summed up by betasia.com

Will Online Gambling be shut out? << Back
Posted: 2006/10/02

An analysis of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and what it means for gamblers around the world.

What does the Act aim to do?

The Act aims to stop anyone handling financial transactions related to online gambling, with a few minor exceptions.

Essentially, it aims to stop banks from allowing customers to send funds to offshore sites and to criminalize those who accept those funds for the purpose of gambling.

The Act is pretty ‘catch all’ in what counts as a financial transaction – it covers credit cards, electronic funds transfers, checks, drafts and ‘proceeds from any other financial transaction’.

It covers all ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ including poker. The Act defines ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ as “to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by any means which involves the use, at least in part, of the Internet where such bet or wager is unlawful under any applicable Federal or State law in the State in which the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.” In other words, unless the gambling is state legislated then it is illegal.

When will it come into force?

Assuming that President Bush does not refuse to sign the Act – which is extremely unlikely – the law will change on his signature.

Financial institutions will then have 270 days to implement the regulations within the Act. Detailed regulations will be drawn up about what measures they must undertake to ensure they are not handling gambling transactions and if they comply with the regulations they will not be prosecuted, even if they inadvertently handle some gambling transactions by mistake. Essentially this means that all gambling transactions will have to be specifically coded as such and automatically blocked if they have that code.

There are likely to be several legal challenges to the Act which may take as long as a year to resolve. Most importantly, it appears this legislation is in direct contravention of the World Trade Organisation rulings against the United States in relation to online gambling. However the US government has hitherto ignored WTO rulings relating to gambling until now and is unlikely to change their stance in the near future.

Who proposed this Act and why?

The Act is based largely on a previous bill proposed by Congressman Jim Leach, (R-Iowa) in the House of Representatives and a similar bill proposed by Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) in 2005. Certain aspects of it – in particular a clarification of the 1961 Wire Act which covers interstate betting by telephone – were dropped at the last minute because of lobbying by ‘real world’ gaming interests.

There are various theories as to why the law was passed now.

Democrats accuse Republicans of pushing the bill to placate its conservative base, particularly the religious right, before the November 7 congressional elections but certain Republicans have been trying to get anti-online gambling legislation passed for nearly a decade.

Others have suggested that the huge growth of online poker and the increasingly aggressive advertising tactics of the big poker sites made legislators eager to crack down on the industry, especially as it pays no tax revenues to the United States.

The arrest of David Carruthers, chief executive of sports betting site BetonSports, on racketeering charges also raised the stakes. The company’s founder, Gary Kaplan, was allegedly linked to criminal gangs in the United States and opponents of online gambling argued that many websites were being used as a front for money laundering and other criminal behaviour. Given that so many of the companies were floated on the London Stock Exchange and audited by the major accountancy firms, this seems a little fanciful but looked plausible to conservative opponents of gambling.

Who does it affect?

The wording of the legislation is aimed at anyone ‘in the business of betting’. This was intended to catch those who operate online gambling sites but it could cover a wider scope than that.

While those drafting the legislation did not intend to criminalize any individual placing a bet or playing poker online the loose wording could, in theory, catch someone who made their living as a professional gambler or poker player. It is unlikely that this would be applied to individuals but it is not impossible that this legislation could be used to prosecute an individual.

The wording suggests that anyone running a site promoting online gambling – whether it is a sports gambling information site, sports betting forum, watchdog site, rakeback or affiliate site – could be considered to be ‘in the business of betting’. This is likely to affect thousands of small gambling websites. The legislation allows for the government to ask sites to remove links to gambling sites and also to ask Internet Service Providers to take the companies offline. Realistically, if the online gambling sites cease to operate then so will these information sites as there will be no affiliate revenue to keep them going.

It is also suggests that ‘skill gaming’ sites will be illegal – under the definition of the Act it definitely appears that playing chess for money online will now be in breach of the law.

Who does it not affect?

The chief winners from the Act are operators of fantasy sport sites. Despite the fact that their activities are very similar to gambling in many ways, there is a specific exemption for fantasy sites. However they may not have their scoring systems based on a team’s performance, team score on the point spread on that game. This means fantasy sports must be based on the statistical performance of a group of players. The fantasy sport operators may also not offer prizes related to the number of entrants into the fantasy pool.

How fantasy sports have managed to get this exemption is something of a mystery and no doubt some online gambling operators will be looking to see if their sites can be changed into fantasy sites.

State lotteries also do well from this legislation. They are now specifically allowed to start online operations and to club together to provide multi-state jackpots on their sites. It also allows them to run 'casino style' games of chance on their websites, akin to the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in UK betting shops.

What are the penalties for breaking this law?

The Act allows those breaking the law to be imprisoned for up to five years.

What does this mean for the future of online gambling?

At the moment it means that a huge number of investors are a lot poorer and a lot of lawyers are getting paid a ton of money to work out what is and what is not covered by this legislation.

In the long term it may lead to the legalisation and taxation of online gambling in the United States. As America has found in the past with Prohibition, it is extremely unlikely that the passing of this legislation will stop sports gambling by their citizens. ‘Locals’, as bookies who operate out of bars and cigar shops across America are known, are throughout the states and can expect to see a boom in their business in the coming months. Laws that merely shift a problem rather than eliminate it are historically neither popular or long lasting.

There may also be a large number of recreational poker players who will be extremely displeased by having their online poker pastime eliminated by legislators. Whether these players will have any political clout is questionable but there will be many relatively educated and wealthy people who wonder why their government feels it necessary to remove access to something that for the vast majority of people has no negative effects. This is especially true when so many real world poker rooms (and casinos, horseracing tracks, lotteries etc) exist across America, suggesting that a different standard is being applied to online gambling versus all other forms of gambling.

The main problem is how or why this Act could be over-turned. This is little political incentive for any politician to try and promote online gambling. The number of people who would specifically vote for an individual because they promoted a bill that allowed them to bet online is minimal. Yet the downside of proposing it is huge – the backlash from the conservative heartland and right wing bloggers would be enormous – and potentially not just damaging to the individual but also to their party. Perhaps the best hope for anyone who wants to see online gambling legalized for the US market is that the federal government will realize the scale of illegal betting within their territorial boundaries and think that taxation and regulation is better than the activity being run and controlled by Mob enterprises.

I don't live in America. Does this affect me?

Perhaps.

Anyone who has a pension fund that invests in the London stock market has probably already lost money following the passing of the Act. Shares plunged on the news of the act passing and as most pension funds which track the FTSE 100 index had shares in Party Gaming then their pension funds will be poorer because of it.

As a gambler it might just affect you. Profits from American bettors have been the main driver of the online betting industry in the last decade. Without those profits companies will change their behaviour. Also, investors will be less willing to put their money into these companies, meaning that there is less competition in the long run.

For sports bettors this may mean that margins creep up from the present highly competitive level. In theory it could mean that the non-American markets will become more competitive as everyone seeks to find new customers in these territories but initial reaction in the industry suggests the Act will hurt the global gaming industry in every territory.

If you play poker you will almost certainly find there is far less 'value' in the games you play online. Fewer players will probably make the games more competitive and tougher to beat. Companies will be making lower profits and will be less willing to give money back to players in the form of rakeback and bonuses.

Courtesy of BetAsia.com.
 
#11 ·
Neteller's stock plummeted yesterday with news of this along with european based publically traded sportsbooks. I don't believe it will be affected so much b/c the company is not based in the US. The problem with sites like neteller, paypal and all books is that a large chunk of the business comes from US bettors and they will now lose the percentage. From what I've been told expect small books to close up shop and alot of other books to consolidate and merge. Poker sites will certainly be the first to go. Major books like Pinnacle and 5Dimes won't be affected as much but there will certainly be some major shockwaves.

Personally I've taken 1/2 of my money out of 5Dimes and will be taking the other half out this evening. I don't want to get caught up in all this mess. Just not worth it.
 
#13 ·
I believe the number was somewhere like 50% of action for all online sportsbooks comes from the US. You will also see sports forums close as well due to the revenue stream they are no longer allowed to access as under the new law those sites become illegal. This is one big mess. The big books will find a loophole in this. Most feel that depositing my certified check will be ok and withdrawing by checks will be fine but still it's a bit of a hassle. According to some reports alot of the sportsbooks are trying to get there governments to go to the WTO on this law but the US has ignored the WTO in these situations in the past. It's the fucking religious right who has alot of the voting power causing this whole mess. The Republicans are desperate after there numbers have dropped off and they feel by appeasing the religous right they can in turn get there senators and congressman voted in this November.
 
G
#20 ·
I'm a member of a US based fixed forum and I know the admins on the site are extremely concerned to the fact that you alluded to - most of the revenue from the site actually comes in the form of sponsorship from other sportsbooks, even moreso than client money

Interesting times ahead....
 
#22 ·
You can drink yourself into a hole, smoke cigarettes until your lungs turn black, eat 100 cheesburgers a day until your heart explodes, but god forbid if you want to throw a few bucks down on your favourite sporting event. I am so sick of this shit! I guess the US government knows what is best for everyone. Rant over.:banghead: :bs:
 
#23 ·
Dear customer,

The new law that has passed is unenforceable. Banks have no possible way of knowing or tracking what transactions are for gaming purposes. The law was tossed together at the last minute by the US Congress. I equate this law to the US government telling you that you are no longer allowed use your favorite sexual position in the comfort of your own home. They have no way of enforcing that either. It will be many years (if ever) that anyone will even notice this law is on the books in the US.

Sincerely,
Tony
5Dimes Operations Manager
 
#48 ·
DAMN FUCKIN STRAIGHT 5DIMES! That is my book and that's what I love to hear. This won't impact my withdrawls untill a company I do business with tells me it should. Quite frankly, I'm gonna go ahead and be an idiot rather than let these laws scare me. I'm sick of sports gambling getting such a bad look.
 
#25 ·
:scared:

Okay... I'm too lazy you could say to read everything written in this thread but I have a question (possibly a silly one) :lol:

Is there a possibilty that Australian Centrebet Accounts will be closed too?

It is my only bookie. :toothy:
 
#28 ·
bet365

We regret to inform you that due to recent legal developments, we no longer accept customers who are resident in the United States of America. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you wish to withdraw your funds, please contact us and one of our highly trained customer service team will be available to help. Please note, any unsettled sports bets will be settled in the normal way.


well i guess thats the end for me :awww: mother fuckers :mad:

now i have to figure out if i can ask my friends in uk to open an account and i can access it from here. does anyone know if they are going to do ip check or not?
 
#33 ·
well i guess thats the end for me :awww: mother fuckers :mad:

now i have to figure out if i can ask my friends in uk to open an account and i can access it from here. does anyone know if they are going to do ip check or not?
or maybe not :devil: pinnacle and pointbet still allows US people but u cannot change the soccer handicap line in pinnacle which sucks though :eek: still something is better than nothing:rolleyes:
 
#30 ·
As a Dutch citizen, all this stuff sounds very common to me. By law I am not allowed to bet with foreign bookies on the internet, the Dutch government just want me to bet with the only legal book in Holland; Toto (sponsored by that same government). I've been lucky some books allow me and ignore the stupid Dutch law (Centrebet/Canbet/Betfair/Unibet).
Hope all you Americans find a reliable book who is willing to accept you, because I know how frustrating it can be when you are not able to join some very good books (Pinny for example for me).
 
#32 · (Edited)
BG, I'm assuming you mean the American folk can register for a bookie overseas as the poster before referred to??


So... for Aussies who have accounts in USA bookies like Bet365 or whatever... have their accounts been closed too?

Also can Americans walk into a TAB (example) and still bet?

EDIT: I read most of the thread now and that last question was just stupid. :eek: :retard:

Basically all USA books have been shut down right?
So everyone, everywhere, who was a registered client will those have had their account closed??

This is just fucking ridiculous. :rolleyes:
 
G
#46 ·
Internet Gambling Bill to be Protested in D.C. on Monday


October 8, 2006 - The press will be in Washington D.C. on Monday because it is Columbus Day and while they are filming the day's festivities they will be greeted by protestors to the Internet Gambling Prohibition Bill.

The bill is expected to be signed on Friday the 13th but protestors are requesting that the president reconsider. According to organizer Debbie Richardson, "many things can happen as a result of the protest."

The Port Security Bill is considered to be a highly important piece of legislation that will most definitely be signed by President Bush, Richardson explained to us. She went on to say that Bush is allowed to strip away add on bills to bills he is signing so that they can be sent back to Congress to be debated and voted on as individual bills.

Richardson, who will be in Washington D.C on Sunday in order to set up for Monday's protest, believes it is highly important to voice opinions in Washington before Friday the 13th in order that the president has time to consider the strong opposition to the bill. Richardson also believes it is important to be there on Monday because that is when the press will be there.

"If we don't fight for our rights and our freedom we lose," says Richardson. "We are urging all supporters of freedom to go to Washington to protest the bill that would stop online gaming. Everyone that can possibly go needs to show up and fight for freedom."

Demonstrators will meet in front of the Washington Monument on Monday, October 9th at 9am est. A large turn out is expected.

If you are planning to attend the protest and are unable to make it to the Washington Monument on time, you can meet the protestors in front of the White House on Pennsylvania Ave, Richardson told us.

If you would like more info or need to call to find out where to meet, contact Debbie Richardson by phone: 910-619-0563 or by email: drichardson @ bizec.rr.com.

"Tell your roomies to demonstrate, tell your friends to demonstrate, tell your family to demonstrate. In fact, tell as many people as you can to demonstrate," Richardson says, "if enough people show up to fight for our rights we can make a difference.

"If we let them take this right away from us," she says, "what will be next?"

:rocker2:
 
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