The last few days the main topic of conversation among my group of friends has been the passage of the Internet Gambling Bill and how it will affect our playing poker online. I have already received an e-mail from one Titan Poker telling me that they were suspending operations in the US and making me aware of the situation so I could withdraw the money from my account. Party Poker was one of the first sites to announce they would suspend real money games for US residents once the law is signed. Other sites such as Full Tilt Poker released a statement saying it would be "business as usual" for the present. On the Two Plus Two Poker Forum website you can find a listing of links to statements from many of the other online poker sites regarding their policy

An article by David Matthews on the Las Vegas Advisor website reported that the primary focus of the new law would be towards the financial institutions that players use to fund their online accounts. According to Matthews, What could change is electronic transfers between U.S. banks and intermediary payment-processing companies, such as NeTeller, Citadel, and Firepay. These aren't gambling sites; they're only intermediary money-transfer companies. By the letter of the bill, American banks might not have to cease transacting with the intermediaries.

Neteller issued a statement on their website saying; It is currently unclear how NETELLER, a European company, with no assets, presence or employees in the US, would be affected by this bill. Once the regulations have been written, NETELLER will have a clearer view of which companies are affected, how those companies will be expected to comply, and any possible resulting impact on NETELLER and its US facing business. NETELLER continues to operate its business as normal.

I am not sure what will happen once all of the dust stettles There is no guarantee that money you have on account will be refunded automatically if an online site suspends operations in the US. A few months ago I lost money that I had deposited in Bet On Sports after their CEO was arrested and the site was shut down to US residents. So far my efforts to recoup the money in my account have not been successful. I don't want this to happen again so to be on the safe side I am withdrawing most of the money I have in the online poker sites for now. You should make your own decisions whether you want to do the same.