ePassporte Ceases as Deposit Option at Online Poker Rooms

Ace High_Pino at PokerOwnage was at it again over the weekend with his almost first out of the gates news breaking story regarding ePassporte and follow-ups. ePassporte, a global processor of online finances, ceases being a deposit option at online poker rooms in the US. The company used to allow instant transfers of money from checking accounts, credit and debit cards but they are following in NETeller's place in "closing its doors" to the US. For more in-depth detail, please see the following links at PokerOwnage: ePassporte Shutting Down to U.S. Online Poker Players? Poker Rumor Confirmed: ePassporte Is Shutting Down To U.S. Poker Players. Michael J. Garcia: Online Poker Player Enemy #1 - Again. Poker Echecks are quickly picking up the pieces and getting the word out there about their services. Not all are utilizing PokerEchecks, but two prominent online poker rooms do, FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com. The cool thing about Poker Echecks is they don't charge any type of fees to their depositors. Also, as soon as you deposit your funds they are immediately available for you to play. ePassporte however, charged both deposit and withdrawal fees and on average it took around 2 days for you to play. Sport Tidbits: The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is the primary culprit in the closing of ePassporte and others like them. It was signed into US Law via the Safe Port Act on October 13, 2006 by President George W. Bush. The UIGEA was basically slipped into the port security act without really being read. The UIGEA states that US based financial institutions are not allowed to transfer monies from online casinos to US players. The Act itself doesn't make prevent US Players from online gambling, it just makes it more challenging due to extremely limited options to deposit and transfer funds.