Summing up Recommended List of Neteller Bingo Sites by Top Of The Shop Bingo
What is Neteller
Neteller is a means of transferring money electronically. It is therefore an excellent way of depositing at an online bingo site. Many people also prefer not to pay with conventional debit or credit cards, usually because of perceived security fears. Online fraud and identity theft means that many people prefer to use a payment method which does not require the use of personal financial information such as card or bank account numbers.
How does Neteller Actually Work?
Neteller is an electronic payment system which enables you to deposit or withdraw from your favourite bingo site. It is also often referred to as an e-wallet. This is because you effectively transfer funds from your existing bank or credit account into this separate electronic account (hence “e-wallet”) which you then use to make your payments.
In fact, there are over sixty different ways of transferring funds to your Neteller account. In addition to the most widely used methods like your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit account, you can also make deposits with alternative methods like bank and wire transfers, the pre-payment card Paysafecard, Giropay and Trustly. You can even use your Bitcoin. There is however, usually a fee to pay.
Withdrawals can be made to your bank account, but again this will involve a fee. But the whole point of putting funds into a Neteller account is to make payments for goods and services online. There is no additional fee for doing this, so by far the best way to withdraw funds from your Neteller account is to pay for stuff!
You can also apply to become the owner of a linked MasterCard. This effectively becomes a pre-payment card (it must be pre-loaded from your Neteller account) but it has the advantage that you are now able to use your Neteller account to pay for goods in the real world, like in high street shops and restaurants.
You can use your Neteller account at all of the sites listed on this page. The main advantage of doing so is that you do not need to disclose any further personal financial information, such as your bank account details or your credit card number. This is an important consideration for two main reasons…
Firstly, many people are concerned at the rise of online fraud and identity theft. Basically, the fewer people and organisations that have access to your personal financial information, and the fewer times you have to transmit this information across potentially insecure communication networks like the internet (especially Wi-Fi) and telephone lines, the better. If you don’t have to do this, there will be fewer opportunities for online fraudsters and potential hackers to get hold of your account details. By using an e-wallet service such as Neteller, you are paying for goods and services remotely, so you do not have to give personal financial information like your account numbers to merchants or traders you are buying from, nor transmit that information, by which it could be intercepted.
The second reason is that it adds a level of confidentiality. If you do not want a transaction to appear on your regular bank or credit account or statement, this is an excellent way of achieving this. You may wish to do this for any number of reasons but the two main ones are typically to protect your credit rating, or to protect your financial transactions from prying eyes, like inquisitive partners or other people who may have access to your bank or credit statements.
Neteller is therefore a convenient and inexpensive way of making payments for goods and services, both online and now (via the linked MasterCard) in the real world too. It is widely accepted by online bingo sites, merchants and traders and is an excellent way of making swift, secure and confidential transactions online.
The History of Neteller
Neteller was founded as a company in Canada in 1999. It first began its operations as an electronic money transfer service early in the following year. The vast majority of these transactions involved the transfer of funds used to make payments between online gamers and the world’s gambling industry including bingo sites. Online bingo sites were expanding rapidly during this period, and a trustworthy means of transferring funds electronically was essential to the industry’s continued growth. Neteller soon had this fledgling market virtually sewn up. Soon after launch, it was an accepted method of payment at around 80% of the world’s online gambling merchants.
Whilst this early success and rapid growth is clearly a success story, the company was heavily reliant on this single market. Well over 90% of its revenue was derived from online bingo transactions, and furthermore, this business was primarily taking place in the United States, rather than spread worldwide.
This over-reliance on American gamers became a real problem as the regulatory authorities in the United States continually imposed further restrictions on the online gambling industry throughout the early years of the 21st Century. The legal situation with regard to gambling in the US is complicated by the fact that while the Federal Government in Washington (President, Senate, House of Representatives) has the greatest powers with regard to gambling, State authorities can also impose their own regulations. This explains why the state of Nevada is able to administer a much looser legal framework, enabling Las Vegas to become the widely acknowledged gambling capital of the world.
The 1962 Federal Wire Act had already imposed considerable restrictions on the gambling industry, but the advent of the internet, with its new technologies and the complete revolution in domestic and international trade was not really covered by this outdated legislation. This resulted in several legal cases and clarifications of the law by the US Department of Justice and various Appeal Court rulings. The whole situation was uncertain and needed tidying up. This finally occurred with the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
The whole situation was a disaster for a company which earned virtually all its revenue from the online gaming industry. The company took the decision to re-locate its business to the Isle of Man in 2004 in order to attempt to circumvent any tightening of the laws. It also raised additional funds by launching on the London Stock Exchange the same year. $70m was raised. Unfortunately, none of this managed to help matters, as the funds contained in all US based Neteller account holders were subsequently frozen. They were not released for several years as the legal battles continued.
The damage was done. While Neteller continued its attempt to diversify by broadening its customer base, its revenues fell disastrously. Fee revenues collapsed from a high point in 2006 of around $240m in 2006 to just $60m by 2010. Nevertheless, the basic principles and the ideas behind the service were certainly still viable, and this combination of great potential, but poor financial health left the company ripe for takeover.
The precise mechanism of the takeover is masked by name changes and various corporate financial wizardry involving mergers, takeovers and apparent reverse takeovers. The end result of all this account ting chicanery was that Neteller ended up being owned by a company called Optimal Payments PLC. The transaction occurred in 2011, with the process being completed early the following year with the new company in total control.
Optimal Payments was already the owner and operator of the pre-payment card service Paysafecard, and in 2015 it added to its growing portfolio of payment methods by acquiring the rival electronic payment service, Skrill. The company has also decided to re-name itself, becoming known by the name of its original payment service, Paysafecard.
The result of all these corporate shenanigans is that three of the major online payment facilities, Paysafecard, Neteller and Skrill are in fact all owned by the same company. This company is known as Paysafe Group PLC, with its headquarters based on the Isle of Man.