May 2016 U.S. Offshore Online Poker Payment Processing Report
There was an improvement at many U.S.-facing offshore poker sites in terms of withdrawal speeds over the past month. Those that did not improve continued to pay players at the same speed as April.
The big news in the past month is that Bovada added Bitcoin as a withdrawal option. This is great news for players that gave action to other sites due to the lack of Bitcoin as a withdrawal option.
Last month’s grades are in parenthesis. April’s report may be found here.
Intertops/Juicy Stakes A+ (A+)
Intertops and Juicy Stakes remain atop our report for the second straight month. Both are members of the Horizon Network, once known as Revolution Gaming. These sites remain on top of our list due to consistently fast cashout speeds and a U.S.-friendly withdrawal option that has no charge no matter how many times it is used in a month. Intertops and Juicy Stakes are the only major U.S.-facing offshore sites that offer such an option.
Bitcoin is the quickest way to get a cashout from Intertops and Juicy Stakes. These are processed in a day or two in amounts up to $2,500 per week. There is never a fee for a Bitcoin withdrawal at Intertops or Juicy Stakes.
Cardpay sends a withdrawal to a debit or credit card, which in turn puts those funds in an associated bank account, if one exists. These are available in amounts up to $5,000. The fee is $20. These are processed in less than one week in most cases.
Checks are processed in amounts up to $3,000 for a $50 fee. These are delivered in about one week. Bank wires are processed up to $2,500 and also have a $50 fee in addition to what is charged by the banks handling the transaction. These arrive in about two weeks.
BetOnline A (A)
BetOnline is the flagship of the Chico Poker Network. Sportsbetting.ag is its sister site. Both continue to offer fast withdrawals. BetOnline is becoming a favorite among players due to its soft games and ease of getting paid.
The quickest way to get paid at BetOnline is via Bitcoin. These are processed in one to three days. The fee is about two percent of the transaction. The maximum Bitcoin withdrawal is $5,000.
The other common option for withdrawal is check by mail. The checks from BetOnline are faster than any other U.S.-facing poker site. Players can expect to get paid in four to seven days. The fee is $35. The maximum check withdrawal is $2,500.
Players may receive one free withdrawal per month. It must be requested on a Friday and the maximum fee waived is $50. Any withdrawal with a higher fee will receive a $50 discount.
Winning Poker Network A- (A-)
The Winning Poker Network cashier processes payments for Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker and True Poker. Bitcoin withdrawals are processed in about one day. The fee is about two percent and the cap is $5,000.
Checks arrive in one to two weeks. The fee is $65 and the maximum amount is $2,995. Players may receive one free check each month.
The other way U.S. players can get paid at the Winning Poker Network is by debit card. This is an ATM card players can use to receive cash. There is a $40 fee to have the debit card issued. There is a $4.95 fee for every withdrawal request from the site. There is also a $5.95 monthly maintenance fee. Every ATM withdrawal carries a $3 fee in addition to what the machine owner charges. Debit card withdrawals are processed in a day or two.
Bovada B+ (B+)
Bovada is the largest U.S.-facing site. It continues to struggle getting payments to players at the same speed of its competitors. In Bovada’s defense, its player base is substantially larger than any other U.S. site. This volume causes issues from time to time. There is no reason to be concerned about Bovada and its payout speeds. The group has always met its obligations and we see no reason for that to change.
Bovada just introduced Bitcoin withdrawals. This is after it rolled out Bitcoin deposits last month. Players report a three or four day wait to get a Bitcoin withdrawal. We have yet to establish the maximum withdrawal and fee for these transactions. If you have a personal experience, we encourage you to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
The fastest way to get a withdrawal from Bovada is cash transfer. These are delivered in a day or two. The limits were reduced to $300. The fee is $50.
Visa Fast Funds seems to be Bovada’s preferred payment method. This puts cash right onto a player’s debit card or associated bank account. Some players experienced issues in March and some are still waiting, although it appears that backlog from the processing problems is almost eliminated. Visa Fast Funds requests made in the last 30 days were processed in three to four weeks. The fee for this transaction is $50. The cap is $3,000.
Checks are available to many players. These are issued in amounts up to $3,000 and are delivered in one to two weeks. The fee is $50. Bank wires arrive in two to three weeks. The maximum withdrawal is $9,500. The fee is $50 in addition to whatever the processing banks charge for the transaction.
Players may receive one free withdrawal per month for any of these methods except cash transfer.
Merge Gaming B+ (B)
Merge Gaming continues to improve after its dismal 2015. The cashier that services Carbon Poker, PlayersOnly and Sportsbook.ag offers three withdrawal options to players, although some may not have all available.
Check speeds are down to about one month, although some players report a wait of five or six weeks. The fee for a check withdrawal is three percent of the transaction. The maximum is $2,500. Players may receive one free check per year.
Bitcoin withdrawals are processed in one to four days. The maximum withdrawal amount is $5,000. The fee is five percent. Some players have bank wires available as a withdrawal option. The cap is $5,000 on these transactions. Merge Gaming charges three percent of the wire to process it. The banks involved in the process will also tack on a few fees. These arrive in two to four weeks.
SWCPoker B (B-)
SWCPoker’s traffic continues to remain low, but it pays players quickly, just as it always has. The Bitcoin-only site processes withdrawals in hours, sometimes only minutes. There is never a fee when withdrawing from SWCPoker. The lack of traffic and other withdrawal options hurts its grade.
There are loyal players at SWCPoker that want to share their opinion. Last month, we received this comment from Nick:
“[SWC] is indeed the fastest and they played there for over a year now I have got my cashout in as little as 30 minutes before they are very reputable and deserve my credit.”
Players that are comfortable with Bitcoin may want to check out SWCPoker. It offers some unusual games, great support and a tight-knit community of dedicated players.
Full Flush Poker D- (D-)
Full Flush Poker is the flagship of the Equity Poker Network. It saw some minor improvement in cashout speeds earlier this year but that is no longer the case.
The only way players are getting paid by Full Flush Poker is by cash transfer. The cap is $291 plus a $39 fee. These are processed in four to six weeks. Some players report waiting for other methods for nearly a year. This includes checks and ewallets. We recommend avoiding Full Flush Poker until the site shows a pattern of paying players in a timely manner.
I play BCP on WPN and there is no fee for Bitcoin withdrawals.