Don’t Cash Your Online Poker Checks Just Yet: They’re Bouncing

As Gambling911.com has been reporting over the past few hours, the Instant eCheck solution offered by Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker/UltimateBet has abruptly been discontinued. This is making it difficult for some players to move money into these operations.  But the real headache is coming when someone attempts to cash one of these checks.  

The checks are bouncing.

Gambling911.com learned late Friday that the Attorney General's office in New York State has targeted this particular processor. 

As a result, players are being forced to pay "insufficient funds" fees.  In extreme cases, bounced checks can cause negative results to credit scores. 

With the banking sector in crisis, there is also a potential that one's banking institution could elect to shut off customers attempting to pass off such checks.

Gambling911.com has issued an advisory NOT TO CASH ANY CHECK RECEIVED FROM ONE OF THESE ONLINE POKER COMPANIES OVER THE PAST WEEK UNTIL THIS MATTER IS RECTIFIED.  Contact your online poker site and request another payment method or verify that the check in question is not part of the Instant eCheck payment solutions.

We should also note that a separate entity - eCheck - is in no way affiliated with Instant eCheck.  Initial reports suggest it was the eCheck product that had been pulled.  This is not the case.

"We only process for casino's and are going very well," an eCheck company spokesperson told Gambling911.com Friday morning.  "This is a customer service nightmare and is starting to costs us revenues and credibility."

Gambling911.com was quick to distinguish between the two companies and make note that the eCheck option available at many online casinos is still very much readily available. 

It was not immediately known as to why the Instant eCheck deposit and payment solution was pulled from the three major online poker sites. 

Gambling911.com will continue to monitor this story as news develops.