Question for Canadians about currency

[Mudcat]

About 4 years ago I made the decision to have all my off-shore accounts including Neteller in USD. If I am recalling correctly it was because some books I wanted didn't offer CDN $$$ accounts and I was getting hit on conversions on every deposit/withdrawal with those books.

When I used USD across the board, I was only getting hit on conversions when I pulled money in to my bank account from Neteller every month. It was a better deal overall.

Now I'm wondering if it makes sense to switch everything to Canadian. Are there still books that offer USD accounts but not CDN? It doesn't seem likely. I guess a lot will depend on which money transfer method(s) I'll be using. There is still a lot of strategy development required in that area but I doubt things will be as smooth and organized as they were with Neteller.

It's got to be better to use Canadian dollars now, right? Any thoughts from the hosers?

[Santo]

There are still a few books that only offer USD from my experience, I think Jazz are one. Matchbook are certainly another.

[cobra_king]

5Dimes and Sportbet only offer $USD, and of course any sports exchange would have to be in one currency. I've had the same discussion myself as you have had Mudcat regarding whether i should go Canadian or American dollars. With the death of Neteller and my decision to give Moneybookers a try, i had this same decision to make again. In the end i decided to stay with Canadian dollars as my big 3 (Pinny, Cris, Greek) are still in Canadian dollars. If i was in your situation and had my accounts in $USD as i believe you probably do, i'd just stay the course and stick with it.

[Al Masters]

Hey Mudcat, to slightly change the subject, and i'm only asking you because i have complete respect for your posts and the way you conduct yourself on here.

What is your next move now that neteller is history?

[Santo]

Cobra: There is no inherent reason for an exchange to be one currency, both Betfair and Mansion support multiple currencies just fine.

[cobra_king]

Santo: My apologies since i don't play at them, but that being the case, i would imagine all offers/takebacks would have to be viewed in a single currency and than converted into whatever currency that account holder has when a bet is graded?

[Mudcat]

Thanks for the comments. I am surprised there are still books/exchanges offering USD accounts and not CDN. Then again, the way things are going, that could all change tomorrow.

Hey Mudcat, to slightly change the subject, and i'm only asking you because i have complete respect for your posts and the way you conduct yourself on here.

What is your next move now that neteller is history?

Well, I have made some initial inquiries about moving to England. I haven't gotten too far with that yet but I am making that research a priority for next week. The way things are today, such a drastic move wouldn't be necessary, but the handwriting may be on the wall. Better to be pro-active.

It's not just because of Neteller. For all we know, Neteller could be completely gone in England and everywhere else a month from now. It's more of a big picture consideration. Let's face it, if the US doesn't like gambling in Canada (or anything that's going on in Canada), they can put a lot of pressure on our export-driven economy. Hard to say how far it will go.

I don't see my profession becoming illegal in England in the near future so that's why I'm pursuing this.

I was quite depressed when I first started considering the option of emigration but now I also feel like it could be positive/exciting. I almost want to try it regardless just to have that life experience.

We'll see.



Other than that, I've been on hiatus from work for awhile. I pulled all my off-shore funds back home around mid-February. I've been casually monitoring the industry since then but plan on getting more serious starting next Monday.

At some point I will have to start using different payment processors and see how effective they are. I can get a feel for things by monitoring the forums but it is no substitute for experiencing. It sounds like Moneybookers has some promise. Before I started using Neteller I dealt in cash a lot (Western Union), credit cards and bank drafts. That was nowhere near as elegant as Neteller but it gave me my start in this industry so I know it can get the job done.

It seems like it will probably be necessary to use multiple fund transfer methods. That's why this question of currency conversion becomes so important.

Of course I am facing the same mysteries as everyone else. Suppose I start investing time and money in Moneybookers. Who's to say that next week, the same thing won't happen to them as happened with Neteller? Neteller's reasons for doing what they did are so vague, it is very hard to evaluate.

No matter what, I expect to have to work harder for less money.

Strategically, I expect arbitrage and bonus scalping to become more difficult and I will have to focus more on straight gambling. I will have to increase my research efforts on that side of things and get less conservative with my unit size. That's never been a bad idea regardless.

And I have a few ideas having nothing to do with betting (such as sports writing or other kinds of writing). Those are my thought right now.

[Santo]

Santo: My apologies since i don't play at them, but that being the case, i would imagine all offers/takebacks would have to be viewed in a single currency and than converted into whatever currency that account holder has when a bet is graded?

No they display it in your native currency when you're placing the bets. They just take a mid-market rate and display the sizes in your chosen currency when you log in.

[Al Masters]

Hey Mudcat, ty for the response well said as usual.

WOW contemplating such a big move, I guess you have to follow the cash sometimes, sometimes not. either way all the best.

Thanks again for the informative comback, highly appreciated.

.................AL

[sportsfanatic]

Well, I have made some initial inquiries about moving to England. experiencing.

....

It sounds like Moneybookers has some promise.

I'm Canadian. I've been thinking about moving to England a LOT lately too. Let's face it, only the Brits are immune from the U.S.'s gambling prohibition crusade.

Moneybookers is crap compared to Neteller. Major complaints include no live chat, no toll-free telephone, and e-mail response has been non-existent with their messaging centre. The worst thing is their 90 day transaction limit. My current limit is a measly $10,000 U.S. I can get it to $15,000 with some additional steps. That sucks so bad it isn't even funny. What happens if you use up your transaction limit? Does the money become stuck in Moneybookers till the 90 days window has passed? Anybody know?

[Mudcat]

I don't know the answer to that question sportsfanatic.

I plan to start serious research into Moneybookers this week. But those limit numbers are pretty pathetic for my purposes. I have been casually reading the forums and have heard that limits can be increased more than you are indicating but I don't know for sure yet.

And without good customer service, it makes them an even weaker option.

And on top of that, since I don't fully understand what has happened with Neteller, I don't know if Moneybookers will also want to stop doing business in Canada at some point.

Crappy situation.

[BAUS]

I heard that Moneybookers has something called a "High Rollers" account that you can ask for if you jump thru some hoops. I'm still in the process of checking out this company also. Maybe if by NFL season I have a MB account that has high enough limits I'll feel a little better.

This really is a crappy situation.

BAUS