An uncapped $4 + 3% withdrawal fee has been added to transactions to two of the most popular online wallets, Skrill and Neteller, at PartyPoker and other bwin.party rooms. The changes had been implemented unannounced and only an update of the Frequently Asked Questions section of the rooms signalled the new fee, together with player reports after initiating payouts. No official comment, reasons or further details have so far surfaced.
Apart from the unannounced nature of the change, the amount of the fee is also whopping, as the fixed portion of it is €3/£2.50, while standard transaction rates for large merchants at Skrill are under 2%. What is more, the withdrawal method is usually free of charge (in addition to being the quickest, with other methods like premium check by mail and direct bank transfers costing $30 and $50, respectively, and taking several business days).
While a similar change has been conducted in Russia and some other, isolated markets earlier this month, players now complain that all bwin.party skins use the new fee in all markets (even though the Zynga Plus Poker client, which is also powered by PartyPoker, shows an unaltered set of terms and conditions as yet).
Currently, the only free withdrawal options, though possibly restricted to a number of countries, are PayPal and credit cards but these require successful deposits before being allowed to use for withdrawals. For cashouts of over $160, the cheapest alternative currently is check by mail for a $5 fixed fee, but it takes much longer than the eWallet withdrawals.
PartyPoker has been becoming notorious for unethical moves; first, they separated their winning players without previous announcement. Recreational players were moved to tables inaccessible to winning users in the lobby. PartyPoker had initially denied players’ charges but eventually admitted the separation, after clear evidence had surfaced.
Later, the network withdrew from a number of countries, effective 1 May, 2013. They ceased accepting new registrations, while allowing players with older accounts to keep playing in their rooms. There were additional, shady details about the cancellation of events at Pokerfest III Day 1 as well.
Apart from the unannounced nature of the change, the amount of the fee is also whopping, as the fixed portion of it is €3/£2.50, while standard transaction rates for large merchants at Skrill are under 2%. What is more, the withdrawal method is usually free of charge (in addition to being the quickest, with other methods like premium check by mail and direct bank transfers costing $30 and $50, respectively, and taking several business days).
While a similar change has been conducted in Russia and some other, isolated markets earlier this month, players now complain that all bwin.party skins use the new fee in all markets (even though the Zynga Plus Poker client, which is also powered by PartyPoker, shows an unaltered set of terms and conditions as yet).
Currently, the only free withdrawal options, though possibly restricted to a number of countries, are PayPal and credit cards but these require successful deposits before being allowed to use for withdrawals. For cashouts of over $160, the cheapest alternative currently is check by mail for a $5 fixed fee, but it takes much longer than the eWallet withdrawals.
PartyPoker has been becoming notorious for unethical moves; first, they separated their winning players without previous announcement. Recreational players were moved to tables inaccessible to winning users in the lobby. PartyPoker had initially denied players’ charges but eventually admitted the separation, after clear evidence had surfaced.
Later, the network withdrew from a number of countries, effective 1 May, 2013. They ceased accepting new registrations, while allowing players with older accounts to keep playing in their rooms. There were additional, shady details about the cancellation of events at Pokerfest III Day 1 as well.
