Everleaf Gaming amended their terms and conditions today. Players had to agree to these terms to access parts of the poker software. Of particular concern was terms #18.

No person who is resident in Malta, France and USA may open an account, play, or in any other way participate in the ELG offerings and/or services.

Players from Malta were already restricted from playing on Everleaf Gaming, but France and the USA were new additions to the restricted country list. While the terms stated US players could not play, US players were still playing real money poker. Support had little to say about the new terms. Then Neil from Minted Poker posted at Two Plus Two confirming that US players would be banned shortly from the network.

Neil went on to say that one of the US payment processors had been seized by U.S. authorities. Funds that were meant to pay U.S. player withdrawals were also seized. Neil continued by saying that Everleaf Gaming and their licensor, the Lottery and Gaming Authority in Malta, agreed that leaving the U.S. market was in their best interest.

There has been no time frame announced for when U.S. players will be banned from the network, but it is expected that it will occur at some point on Friday. That is when the network will make an official announcement about the new terms and conditions.

Everleaf Gaming is in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as to how U.S. players will be refunded their money. This goes for players expecting withdrawals and players with funds on the network. There is no estimate time frame for reimbursement to U.S. players.

Minted Poker also made it clear that players outside the U.S. would continue to be served, including existing players in France, and that all tables would be converted to Euros in the near future. Minted Poker also stated that funds are ring fenced as required by Maltese gaming laws.

At this point, this appears to be isolated incident with Everleaf Gaming, and even though there is reason to be cautious, there are currently no indications that other rooms are in danger of leaving the U.S. market. When Everleaf Gaming makes their announcement about this situation, we will make sure to update this story.