U.S. Facing Online Poker Payment Processing Grades

A top concern for online poker players in the U.S. is their ability to deposit and withdraw. The prospect of rakeback, good games or good software doesn't mean much when you can't paid in a timely manner. RakeTracker recently went through all U.S.facing rooms to find out how sites were handling payment processing over the last few weeks. What we found was a mix bag ranging from excellent payment processing to poor.

Intertops Poker

Intertops (9 out of 10): While Cake Poker 's payment processing is struggling right now, Intertops is using their own cashier and doing a very good job of getting players paid in a timely manner. The site currently offers several withdrawal options for U.S. players. The downside is that withdrawals can be costly ($50 for a check) but players are also being paid extremely quickly. In addition to check, Intertops offers cash transfer, bank wire, check or Visa shopping card. Cashout times vary from a couple days to around a week for bank wires and checks. Intertops is definately a top choice for U.S. players right now given they are on the largest network to allow rakeback to U.S. players.

Everleaf

Minted Poker/RaiseandFold (8): The Everleaf Network is doing quite well with payment processing since Black Friday. The second largest site to offer rakeback to U.S. players offers cash transfer services as well as bank wires. Cash transfers only take 1-3 days while bank wires can take a few weeks to process, which is acceptable to many U.S. players who have become use to reasonable delays.

Bodog

Bodog (7): Bodog was also doing extremely well in processing payments to players a month ago but they have hit a bit of a bump in the last few weeks. Players have had some checks bounce and players have also reported difficulty requesting new checks. Bank wires have also been a bit slower than normal. Bodog has had a great history, so we see this is has a minor hiccup for them in the time being.

Merge Gaming

Carbon Poker/Black Chip Poker (6): As most of you know, Merge Gaming does not currently accept new U.S. players (they are still reporting that U.S. registrations will open up soon), but there are still a bunch of you who are undoubtedly still playing on the network. A big reason they halted new U.S. sign-ups was because of a backlog processing to U.S. players. Have things improved since the ban on new American sign-ups? Yes, a little but players are still seeing delays about 3-6 weeks and only have two withdrawal options: check and bank wire. Checks can be initiated for withdrawals of $100 to $2,500. Merge Gaming will make occasional bank wire withdrawals for players with very large amounts. Check fees vary by VIP status but typically are around $10-$15.

Cake Network

Cake Poker/Broadway Tables (3): Both sites use the Cake Poker cashier. Unfortunately, players are currently only given a single withdrawal option of checks for amounts that range from $500 to $3,000. Once a cashout is initiated, players are waiting 12-16 weeks for a payout, a length of time that will surely put off players who need their funds more quickly.