How Will it Ever Bounce Back?
Quite honestly, Neteller might have the most ineffective public relations
department possible. In January 2007 Neteller suffered from a massive
investigation from the United States government that caused the online casino
e-wallet to suspend all player accounts and cease trading on AIM. Then, U.S.
online casinos players were shocked by the arrest of Neteller co-founders
Lefebvre and Lawrence. And though those events indicated that the company was in
for a rough 2007, all of these events could have had much less long-term impact
on the had Neteller increased its communication efforts.
U.S. online casino Neteller customers with frozen accounts could have never
imagined last spring that the with the end of summer in sight the monies sitting
in their Neteller accounts would still be right there – still sitting frozen in
Neteller accounts. Most online casino Neteller customers agree that the long
wait for account funds would have been more permissible if the company had
exerted more of an effort to communicate with players the status of the U.S.
investigation, and at the very least continual updates on when the company
planned to release funds. Now, as a result of the angry online casino Neteller
customers the company could face even more U.S. litigation in the form of a
class action lawsuit from the customers with frozen accounts.
Then, consider that as just one aspect of Neteller’s future problems. With
several prominent markets now no longer brining in revenue (Turkey, Israel,
Canada, and the U.S.) Neteller is forced to make a concerted effort in the
European and Asian markets to increase registered and active players if it hopes
to survive the 2007 fiscal year.
Another sign that many previous Neteller customers who used the services to
facilitate online casino gambling are no longer thrilled to support Neteller was
the immediate 113 point drop the first day that Neteller reopened fro trading on
AIM.
All of these signs (and online casinos industry analysts) indicate that though
the company can anticipate some revenue for 2007, they have a lengthy recovery
process in the coming years.
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