Off Shore Gaming Association

NeTeller has announced that the distribution of funds to its US members will begin today. They are returning some $94 million to US customers and the process may take some time, but together with Navigant, all monies are being returned to US customers. There is a 180 day time-frame on this process and customers who do not get their requests done before January 26, 2008 will find themselves locked out of their accounts. All requests must be done via EFT if the customer already has a bank account registered with NETELLER, though you can request a check if your registered bank account is no longer valid.

Here are some important points to remember:
- US members cannot make partial requests for funds.
- If you login from another country to request this withdrawal (you are traveling or have moved) your account will be closed.
- Closed accounts can only be reopened by NETELLER Fraud and Security.
- No peer-to-peer transfers as US members cannot use their accounts for any type of transaction other than to request their funds.
- After January 26, 2008 all US accounts will be permanently closed
- There is no withdrawal fee for either EFT or Check

Several OSGA co-workers have already gone through the withdrawal process and each got the following message upon completion - “Your EFT withdrawal request has been submitted. Please allow up to three business days for your request to be processed.”

Three days seems a bit optimistic as NeTeller claims that it has “hundreds of thousands of customers” to pay back in the US. We will post again in this space when the funds are received in the accounts.

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Apparently the “best efforts” of NeTeller to pay back US customers is still not good enough.

As promised, NeTeller did make an announcement today, July 13 regarding the distribution of funds to its US customers. The Press Release stated: “The Company believes that it is making significant progress towards achieving a resolution and hopes to be able to announce this within a number of days.”

So we sit and wait for a company to tell the world what it has taken over six months to accomplish. NeTeller has been very tight lipped about the tens of millions of dollars that they are holding as well as the DOJ involvement in the distribution process. So far, no industry insider has been able to get any information that is not available to the general public and over a million Americans have been left in the dark. We will all have to wait as further information will be communicated to US customers via email, through their corporate website (www.neteller-group.com) and through a press release, which we will post, once the date for implementation of the plan is finalized.

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The Bet33 operation had been helpful with previous complaints, but now has taken months to pay a player several hundred dollars. We had been in contact with management regarding this player. However, our last contact from them was 5 weeks ago. Since 6/6, no response from the book and no payout to the player. Though this appears to be an isolated incident, we feel that this type of treatment could occur with any player.

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In what could be the final piece of the puzzle before Friday’s promised announcement, NeTeller co-founder John Lefebvre pleaded guilty today to a wide-ranging conspiracy charge that included transmitting interstate and foreign bets, offenses related to promoting gambling and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business between 1999 and 2007.

How could they have been breaking the law when they were formed and went public before the UIGEA? If it was already against the law, there would have been no need to sneak the UIGEA into law in the middle of the night. And, the US government STILL has not come out with the who, how and why for the UIGEA. Wasn’t this a publicly traded company that is licensed in the Isle of Man and regulated by England’s FSRC?

The only explanation that we can come up with is that the pleas of Lefebvre and Lawrence are the final steps towards US customers getting their money back and the NeTeller stock being listed again on the AIM. The company will most likely pay a hefty fine and pledge never do business in the US again (they already have left voluntarily). The founders will walk with huge fines and NeTeller will be allowed to finally pay US customers back. We feel strongly that the promised July 13 announcement will be positive for all customers affected by this entire ordeal.

The big shame in all of this is that once again corporate executives have thrown the industry under the bus rather than at least making a stand. NeTeller does have significant business around the world and most likely will survive after this is settled and the DOJ calls off the dogs. And for the two founders, they will probably leave this country as wealthy men and never come back. But, the industry continues, and this is a terrible precedent set for any future cases the US government is planning to make.

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Several gaming websites this week announced and even posted court documents that Millennium Sports founder and BETonSPORTS co-defendant Norm Steinberg was arrested. We have confirmation from our sources in Costa Rica that this is simply not true. Steinberg is still a fugitive in the eyes of the US Department of Justice, but the court documents posted are not fact, perhps they were unsealed a bit too early.

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SBG Global, one of the largest and longest standing sportsbooks in Costa Rica, has acquired Royal Sports. However, the change at this time is quite transparent to both players and industry observers. Players at BetRoyal only have to ad BR in front of their account numbers at the BetRoyal.com website and they are ready to play. Current SBG Account holders will be allowed to continue with both accounts. There is no timetable set for a full migration of Royal’s players into the SBG Global website, nor does SBG management have any current plans to discontinue the BetRoyal brand.

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