- PayPal is considering servicing the US state regulated online gambling market, according to Chris Grove of the OnlinePokerReport.
- PayPal is already used by Winamax and PokerStars in the US for its play money US site.
- PokerStars players in most countries can already use PayPal to deposit and withdraw.
PayPal is considering servicing the US state regulated online gambling market, according to Chris Grove of the OnlinePokerReport.
The payment processor is widely used outside the US for deposits and withdrawals, but has so far refused to extend the option to its US customers.
The information was first published in a daily email newsletter and tweeted by Grove. “Sources tell OPR that PayPal will start processing regulated US online #gambling payments in coming months. Handful of operators to start,” Grove tweeted.
“PayPal has been looking at the issue for months,” according to Grove.
PayPal has a broader market reach in the US than competitors Skrill—which offers it services to online gamblers in New Jersey—and NETELLER—which has in operation for igaming in both Nevada and New Jersey.
Skrill—formerly Moneybookers— is a popular choice for igaming transactions in places around the world.
The Paper Trail
NETELLER was out of the market for several years after it was shut down by the US Department of Justice in 2007 on money laundering charges related to internet gambling transactions.
PayPal, after it was bought by eBay 2002, became the only online payment service integrated within the eBay platform. As a result, the service became extremely popular in America, and now many potential US gaming customers already have a PayPal account.
As Steve Ruddock points out in his analysis of the news at NJPokerOnline, the facility to use a payment method which a customer already has is a major benefit, reducing the number of abandoned applications.
The reluctance by financial institutions to process online gambling transactions is considered a one of the reasons why revenues have not lived up to expectations thus far.
Winamax and PokerStars
PayPal has already used by Winamax in the US for its play money US site.
PokerStars players in most countries can already use PayPal to deposit and withdraw, and it has recently announced that PayPal may be used for purchases of play money chips at its PokerStars.net site which is accessible to US customers.
In order to enter the market, PayPal will need to be licensed by the Nevada and New Jersey regulators—an accomplishment that NETELLER and Skrill have already achieved.
