It has been reported that the US Government has delayed the NETeller hearing. Co-founders Stephen Lawrence and John LeFebvre, were arrested on a charge of conspiracy to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling.
Rumours that the case could be dropped boosted online gaming stocks recently, and this delay may be a response to recent activity from lobbyists.
http://www.igamingbusiness.com/article-detail.php?articleID=13119
Friday, March 16, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Will charges against Neteller be dropped?
Several media outlets are reporting that Senator Barney Frank could be working on a bill that would repeal the UIGEA and also that charges may be dropped against Neteller directors John Lefebvre and Stephen Lawrence. Below is some key quotes from a few media reports today.
March 14 (Bloomberg ) -- Online-gambling stocks rose after the Financial Times said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank wants to repeal a law passed last year that criminalized the industry.
Shares of Gibraltar-based PartyGaming Plc, the world's biggest Internet poker operator, had their biggest gain in 15 months. Shares of 888 Holdings Plc and SportingBet Plc also advanced in London.
``I am working on legislation to cut back on this Internet gambling thing,'' the FT cited Frank as saying on its Web site, referring to last year's law. ``I think it's preposterous,'' and the law is one of the ``stupidest'' ever passed, the FT cited him as saying. ``Maybe we can make some money off it,' he added.
Online-gaming stocks plummeted across Europe in October after Congress unexpectedly banned the collection of credit-card payments from gambling Web sites.
``The slightest indicator that operators may get business back in the U.S. is going to get speculators coming in,'' said Andrew French, a sales trader at E*Trade Securities in London.
http://gamingintelligencegroup.com/gig/content/view/182/2/
March 14 (Bloomberg ) -- Online-gambling stocks rose after the Financial Times said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank wants to repeal a law passed last year that criminalized the industry.
Shares of Gibraltar-based PartyGaming Plc, the world's biggest Internet poker operator, had their biggest gain in 15 months. Shares of 888 Holdings Plc and SportingBet Plc also advanced in London.
``I am working on legislation to cut back on this Internet gambling thing,'' the FT cited Frank as saying on its Web site, referring to last year's law. ``I think it's preposterous,'' and the law is one of the ``stupidest'' ever passed, the FT cited him as saying. ``Maybe we can make some money off it,' he added.
Online-gaming stocks plummeted across Europe in October after Congress unexpectedly banned the collection of credit-card payments from gambling Web sites.
``The slightest indicator that operators may get business back in the U.S. is going to get speculators coming in,'' said Andrew French, a sales trader at E*Trade Securities in London.
http://gamingintelligencegroup.com/gig/content/view/182/2/
Neteller Customer Coalition Created
Almost immediately following the arrests of Neteller's two founders, Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre on January 15, Neteller froze the accounts of all US customers, leaving them no method for withdrawal. In addition $55 million in pending transactions was seized by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO). 200 angry Neteller customers, who collectively have no less than $500,000 locked up at NETeller, have now joined forces in the Neteller Customer Coalition in order to be prepared in the event legal action may be required to get their funds released.
According to a spokesman of the Neteller Customer Coalition some members have over $80,000 stuck at Neteller. Collectively the 200 members are worth $500,000 of frozen Neteller dollars. In the last week membership of the group almost tripled, so expect these numbers to grow exponentially.
If you are also affected by the Neteller disaster, please take a few minutes of your time to join the Neteller Customer Coalition before reading further. You can join the Coalition at the following url:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NetellerCustomerCoalition/
Additional urls providing more information can be found at the bottom of this article.
Another individual duped by Neteller and/or the DOJ is Isaac Haxton, who won $800,000 finishing 2nd in PokerStars' Caribbean Adventure tournament in the Bahamas. After depositing his winnings from his PokerStars account to Neteller it now sits there - being frozen indefinitely. Besides not knowing when the funds will be released, if ever, Neteller also refused to provide information regarding the beneficiaries of any interest that may accrue to the frozen funds, what that interest rate is and who controls the funds whilst they are frozen.
In fact Neteller doesn't communicate with their former US customers at all. A spokesman of the Neteller Customer Coalition, who also moderates the group, summarized Neteller's lack of professionalism in this respect as follows: "They have stonewalled everyone. Completely. The press, customers and site operators alike. They are sticking to what's in their February 8 press release and saying absolutely nothing else. They have apparently disconnected some phone numbers because irate customers keep badgering them. They killed their online live chat feature weeks ago. Their lack of communication right now is very, very frustrating."
In the meantime the DOJ still hasn't decided whether they will continue with the case against NETeller's two founders, Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre, who were both both charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling, and if convicted could face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. However this Friday US Attorney Michael J. Garcia will make an announcement whether the DOJ will be proceeding with the case.
The Neteller Customer Coalition has identified the following scenarios depending on the exact nature of Garcia's announcement:
CASE PROCEEDS: The case will probably drag out for months, maybe years. This outcome will likely trigger legal action from at least some of NETeller's customers. This process could start as early as Monday, March 19, following Friday's announcement from US Attorney Michael J. Garcia about whether the DOJ will be proceeding with the case. If no word comes from NETeller shortly thereafter, some members are expected to pull the trigger.
CASE ABANDONED: When will NETeller re-certify accounts? What will withdrawal options be?
CASE DELAYED: This outcome may also trigger legal action. How long should we reasonably be expected to wait?
DOJ & NETELLER STRIKE A DEAL: Hard to speculate what the terms might be.
NETELLER MAKES NO STATEMENT: Unacceptable. Period.
NETELLER CUSTOMERS FILE SUIT: Class-action? Or just a gaggle of plaintiffs? How is a lawyer selected? What is the jurisdiction? Isle of Man (as NETeller's terms specify)? Or location of primary litigant(s)? How will the lawyer be compensated? What happens if NETeller agrees to release funds regardless of lawyer's actions? Is he still compensated? How are court costs covered in the meantime? BTW everyone who agreed to Neteller's Terms of Service (updated last September after the UIGEA was passed) opted out of the right to participate in a class-action lawsuit against NETeller!
OTHER?
Make sure you join the Neteller Customer Coalition as soon as possible. It's better to be assembled and organized now -- before action is necessary -- than later, in the 11th hour. Make your voice heard. The Neteller Customer Coalition is a great place to exchange ideas. It's also very healthy for people to be able to vent and not feel so helpless.
According to a spokesman of the Neteller Customer Coalition some members have over $80,000 stuck at Neteller. Collectively the 200 members are worth $500,000 of frozen Neteller dollars. In the last week membership of the group almost tripled, so expect these numbers to grow exponentially.
If you are also affected by the Neteller disaster, please take a few minutes of your time to join the Neteller Customer Coalition before reading further. You can join the Coalition at the following url:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NetellerCustomerCoalition/
Additional urls providing more information can be found at the bottom of this article.
Another individual duped by Neteller and/or the DOJ is Isaac Haxton, who won $800,000 finishing 2nd in PokerStars' Caribbean Adventure tournament in the Bahamas. After depositing his winnings from his PokerStars account to Neteller it now sits there - being frozen indefinitely. Besides not knowing when the funds will be released, if ever, Neteller also refused to provide information regarding the beneficiaries of any interest that may accrue to the frozen funds, what that interest rate is and who controls the funds whilst they are frozen.
In fact Neteller doesn't communicate with their former US customers at all. A spokesman of the Neteller Customer Coalition, who also moderates the group, summarized Neteller's lack of professionalism in this respect as follows: "They have stonewalled everyone. Completely. The press, customers and site operators alike. They are sticking to what's in their February 8 press release and saying absolutely nothing else. They have apparently disconnected some phone numbers because irate customers keep badgering them. They killed their online live chat feature weeks ago. Their lack of communication right now is very, very frustrating."
In the meantime the DOJ still hasn't decided whether they will continue with the case against NETeller's two founders, Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre, who were both both charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling, and if convicted could face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. However this Friday US Attorney Michael J. Garcia will make an announcement whether the DOJ will be proceeding with the case.
The Neteller Customer Coalition has identified the following scenarios depending on the exact nature of Garcia's announcement:
CASE PROCEEDS: The case will probably drag out for months, maybe years. This outcome will likely trigger legal action from at least some of NETeller's customers. This process could start as early as Monday, March 19, following Friday's announcement from US Attorney Michael J. Garcia about whether the DOJ will be proceeding with the case. If no word comes from NETeller shortly thereafter, some members are expected to pull the trigger.
CASE ABANDONED: When will NETeller re-certify accounts? What will withdrawal options be?
CASE DELAYED: This outcome may also trigger legal action. How long should we reasonably be expected to wait?
DOJ & NETELLER STRIKE A DEAL: Hard to speculate what the terms might be.
NETELLER MAKES NO STATEMENT: Unacceptable. Period.
NETELLER CUSTOMERS FILE SUIT: Class-action? Or just a gaggle of plaintiffs? How is a lawyer selected? What is the jurisdiction? Isle of Man (as NETeller's terms specify)? Or location of primary litigant(s)? How will the lawyer be compensated? What happens if NETeller agrees to release funds regardless of lawyer's actions? Is he still compensated? How are court costs covered in the meantime? BTW everyone who agreed to Neteller's Terms of Service (updated last September after the UIGEA was passed) opted out of the right to participate in a class-action lawsuit against NETeller!
OTHER?
Make sure you join the Neteller Customer Coalition as soon as possible. It's better to be assembled and organized now -- before action is necessary -- than later, in the 11th hour. Make your voice heard. The Neteller Customer Coalition is a great place to exchange ideas. It's also very healthy for people to be able to vent and not feel so helpless.
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Thursday, March 8, 2007
Neteller to be Represented by Highest Grossing Law Firm
Clifford Chance is the largest law firm in the world by revenue, becoming the world's first billion-dollar business firm (and the biggest billing law firm ever) in 2006, registering record revenues of $2.039 billion, with partners sharing a profit of $660 million. In the same year, Clifford Chance topped three tables for worldwide M&A, advising on 444 deals globally which were valued at a total of $490 billion, and was named "Law Firm of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards held in London on June 27, 2006.
http://www.legalweek.com/Articles/1014069/CC+called+in+as+online+gaming+company+faces+US+fraud.html
http://www.legalweek.com/Articles/1014069/CC+called+in+as+online+gaming+company+faces+US+fraud.html
Monday, March 5, 2007
Cease and desist order served on newbie processor Youteller
Point spreads.com reports that Youteller.com, the nascent third party financial processor which launched recently (see previous Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa reports) has attracted the legal wrath of embattled Neteller.com.
The gambling information portal reports that NETeller legal eagles have served a cease and desist order on Youteller, claiming that the newcomer is infringing on its registered trademark and believes that parent company Seed Capital's use of the YouTeller brand will cause consumer confusion.
See the rest of the article here: http://www.online-casinos.com/news/news4109.asp
The gambling information portal reports that NETeller legal eagles have served a cease and desist order on Youteller, claiming that the newcomer is infringing on its registered trademark and believes that parent company Seed Capital's use of the YouTeller brand will cause consumer confusion.
See the rest of the article here: http://www.online-casinos.com/news/news4109.asp
Friday, March 2, 2007
Neteller to Sue YouTeller
Beleaguered online third party payment processor NETeller has threatened to take legal action against YouTeller, a new processor that promises to take over where NETeller left off in the US-focused Internet gambling sector. Many operators are anxiously awaiting YouTeller's debut, though there is a high degree of caution.
http://www.gambling911.com/NETeller-Legal-Action-Youteller-030207.html
http://www.gambling911.com/NETeller-Legal-Action-Youteller-030207.html
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