Online Casinos Directory

Because of the growth in gambling, ways to deposit to your account online are expanding too. There was a time when you could play online games only if you had a credit card and an e-wallet solution. Remember that we have been working under the UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is still in effect. Sure there are plenty of people fighting the bill, but it has yet to be changes. As of right now the UIGEA is in full effect. That means that financial institutions are still hindered from accepting gambling-related activities or processing them.

For this reason, if you are in the US and want to wager, you have to use an e-wallet solution for gaming. This is one of the most important third-party relationships you are ever going to have. The e-wallet solution is a convenient one. Basically it is the way for a company to hold your money. That company isn’t a bank so it doesn’t fall under the same laws that banks do. This should make it more possible to wager and easier to fund your account. PayPal is an e-wallet solution of sorts, but it does not allow for gambling in the US. The company pulled out of the US when the UIGEA went into effect back in 2006.
If you need to fund your account, you should use some e-wallet like Quick Tender, Neteller, Pay Spark, e-Wallet Xpress, or My Wallet. Any of these companies is reliable and you are going to be able to safely deposit money to them for wagering. In addition, having a third-party hold your money also protects your actual bank account. You control how much you deposit to an e-wallet. If you want to limit your wagering to just $100 this week, you can deposit just that amount. It is a great way to monitor your funds. On the other hand, you also can use a bank transfer to fund an account. This is easy, but you have to be willing to wait for the transfer to go through. Depending on the speed of your bank, this option could take a long time though. The best way to fund your account is to use the e-wallet option.

ePassporte is another safe way to manage your gambling funds online. Some of the great features of the website are its flexibility and usefullness for those without a bank account. When you are looking to fund the account, your transactions are protected via the use of Verified by Visa and ePVerify. When purchasing on the Web with the ePassporte Visa Virtual Account you are protected via the use of password and other protection methods. All the personal information is fully protected by the highly reliable encryption methods. You choose from one of four ePassporte accounts: Personal, Business, Commerce and Corporate.

Signing up for ePassporte is free of charge.  Once you register, you will automatically get a Wallet. The ePassporte Wallet is for sending and receiving money to and from any other ePassporte Account Holder instantly, purchasing online, transferring money to a US checking account, requesting a bank wire transfer. ePassporte Account Holders may upgrade the ePassporte Wallet and purchase the ePassporte Visa Virtual Account for a $5.00 fee. Visa Virtual Account Holders have the same benefits as a Wallet Account Holder and also get the convenience of using a Visa Virtual Account online. You may also purchase an ePassporte Visa Electron Card for $35.00. The ePassporte Visa Electron Card is for purchasing at any location where Visa is accepted and for withdrawing funds at lots of Visa and PLUS ATM locations all over the world. Funds on your ePassporte account are shown in USD, but when you use an ATM, your money will be converted in your country’s currency.

You also can fund your account through Visa Credit/Debit Cards or US Checking Account. If you use Visa cards you are required to pay $5 for every $100 load, if you fund with US Checking Account you will pay $3 for every reload irrespective of the sum you are loading and will take up to 7 working days. The minimum amount that you may load is $25 and the maximum amount within 24 hours is $500. If you want to make these limits bigger, you must contact ePassporte Account Holder Services Department. Overall this is a great service due to its security measures and its flexibility. Regardless of what you want to do online, this most likely is a great option you can use.

When it comes to online gambling every player has to decide what company to use as an online payment system. If you are looking for a company to handle your financial transactions online, check out eWalletXpress. This is an online payment system used to safely transfer money online. eWalletXpress uses the most advanced technology and is one of the most respected names in the industry. It is available to both US and Canadian players.

One of the best things about the eWallet system is that it is quick and easy to sign up. You can fund your account through a couple of different options including eCheck, online bill payment, internet banking, Interac™ Email Money Transfer and 900Pay. When you use eCheck you may select Xpress Funds or Basic service. If you have chosen Xpress Funds, you will get instant access to your funds and the Basic option will give you access to the funds within only 5 working days and will cost $10. When selecting Xpress Bill Payment you will pay a $1.50 fee for instant access to the funds. Through the Basic option you will get access in 24-48 working hours. Interac Email Money Transfer will take 30 minutes to appear in your account. Online bill payment and Interac Email Money Transfer are for Canadian citizens while 900Pay™ is for the US customers. When you use 900Pay you’ll have access up to $150 per month. If you use internet banking your money will be accessible within 1 – 2 days you will pay 15% of you load. For other fees and depositing limits see the eWalletXpress site. Bank wire transfers are your best bet if you want to transfer a lot of money to your eWalletXpress account. It will take the funds up to 2 working days to transfer to your account.

The one drawback of the eWalletXpress system is that its withdrawals take time. It can take up to 10 days to complete the transaction. This may not be as advantageous as some other options out there. It is reliable though and that makes it an option worth looking at. If you are looking for an online management system, test this one out and see if it works for you.

For about two years now US online casino players have had problems finding casinos to play in.  That was when the UIGEA first was adopted—in 2006.  A lot of other casinos will allow US players, but there may be problems with funding due to the UIGEA targeting banking institutions and holding them liable if they allow gambling transactions.  The UIGEA is the title VIII of the SAFE Port Act, which was set in motion to improve security of US ports. Publicly traded websites that were listed on the London Stock Exchange no longer accepted US players when the Act was passed that year.  

The online gambling industry has had many problems with the UIGEA and its rulings over the past two years. Many problems entered the market when banking institutions were overly cautious about their dealings with the market. Many other activities related to gambling, but not under the specific guidelines, were denied.  Lotteries and sports betting are exempt from the UIGEA and gambling laws.

In response to the issue many operators moved out of the country. If casino operators is based outside the US, they are not under the rules of the US.  US players can still wager out of the country and enjoy their online gambling activities. Players do not have a problem playing in online casinos outside the country according to federal law, unless their state expressly forbids it. Some states that do not allow online gambling at all are California, Nevada, Florida and Texas. For this reason many US players need to be cautious when choosing where to play.  They need to check with their specific jurisdiction and know what the rules are.  

You should also look into the various eWallet solutions available to you. There are still some options available to the US player. It is hoped that once the laws are fleshed out, people from the US will be able to begin online gaming legally again– at casinos that are based within the country. Only time will tell where the industry will move, however with the huge dollard involved, the US most likely will adopt laws that legalize and regulate online gambling.

Another company has felt the brunt of the online gambling war. FirePay is a company that used to be a popular eWallet solution for online casino gamblers in the US. It works much like NeTeller in that it is a place to “hold” money that is not a financial institution. It was a way players got around the UIGEA ruling where banks cannot handle transactions that were gambling related. Many people found eWallet solutions convenient and helpful with withdrawing and depositing money for the purpose of online gambling.

Unfortunately FirePay is the next company to be targeted by the US legal authorities. Though December 1^st is technically the day of compliance put forth by the US regarding online gambling, the government has been coming down harder on companies that handle online gambling or are involved in the industry.  FirePay is one of those companies. Records show that the company has already paid out $19 million to the New York District Attorney’s office as part of a settlement against charges made against them. After the UIGEA was introduced in 2006, FirePay left the gambling market in the US, however the state of New York didn’t let them off the hook. Instead the state went after FirePay for wagers that were placed by New York residents via their eWallet services.

Although there are sketchy rules regarding online gambling, many are criticizing the government for going after FirePay because of timing. It seems that most of the transactions they are being charged with happened between 2004 and 2006, well before the UIGEA was accepted into law. FirePay agreed to pay the fines, although much of the money was a forfeiture of the funds collected throughout the 2004 and 2006 time period.  Many hope that the laws are spelled out soon because other companies could be pulled into the fray and penalized for transactions that happened in the distant past.

Although December 1^st is the date of the UIGEA to be accepted, many believe it will be postponed. In fact Barney Frank is hoping to get an extension for a year. That time would allow him and other legislators to amend the UIGEA and find laws that would better serve the people. They want to find laws that allow the US to legalize and regulate online gambling.