Many players have been experiencing delays in receiving funds via “check by courier” from poker rooms. This is explained by the U.S. anti-gaming legislation which restricts the amount of checks that can be processed daily by 3^rd party check processors. In one letter from a poker room, the customer service response indicates that it currently takes approximately 20 business days for a player to receive a check by courier. A payout back log is continuing to be created, because they can only send out so many checks at a time.  This backlog is not going to be alleviated in the near future until they find a way around the restrictive rules set up by the U.S. anti-gaming legislation or the law is changed. See the actual customer service letter below that addressed a cash out concern. 

Many players are changing to the newest preferred method of deposit and cash out through the use of Instant eChecks. This method is an electronic transaction which acts like a check except it is all done electronically. To use Instant eChecks, all you need is your routing number and account number which you enter into field entries on the Instant eCheck page at your preferred poker room. Deposits occur instantly, while cash outs take a few days. On both cases, Instant eChecks are faster than any other method available for US players. Currently there are only two rooms which offer this option; they are Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. Both rooms have a great reputation in the online poker world and offer excellent software that is easy to use and allows for many types of games.  

Actual response from a “Unnamed Poker Room” Customer Service. The name has been removed to prevent readers from associating this problem only to one poker room. 

Thank you for contacting “Unnamed Poker Room” Customer Service.

Upon reviewing your account, we see your $5000 payout request was processed on June 7, 2007 via Check By Courier. Please note with Check By Courier, it takes approximately 20 business days to arrive. We have learned that due to the U.S. anti-gaming legislation, our third party processor is restricted in terms of the number of checks that they can process per day. Therefore, they are currently experiencing delays in sending checks to our clients. Please note that these delays have affected a large number of our clients. While we are doing everything we can, these payouts are being sent out by the processor in a more gradual fashion than we’re used to. You will be receiving your payout but at this moment we cannot project when with any degree of accuracy. Once we are on top of our current backlog, we expect to be back to the speedy payout system that has earned our company one of the best reputations in this industry.

Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,
Customer Service

After the crackdown on US poker rooms, many US players have left the online poker scene altogether. This is mainly because their preferred online poker room shut down and depositing money into remaining poker sites became increasingly difficult. There are a few important things to remember if you are a US poker player looking to rejoin the online poker world. The first thing to remember is that playing online poker is perfectly legal.  The laws to ban US poker were designed to make depositing difficult, there are no laws that forbid players from online gaming, this is mainly because they would be next to impossible to enforce. This brings us to the second thing to remember, depositing has been made easier in the past year. One of the easiest methods that have been introduced to the Online Poker world is the use of eChecks. Both Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker allow the use of this method. eChecks are quick, easy, and secure for the depositor.  If you are a player looking to return to online poker, eChecks are the best way to get back into the action.