NETELLER gives Bitcoin the cold shoulder after an updated company policy bans transactions using virtual currency on its network.

The popular online financial transaction operator NETELLER has decided to surge on without an interest in virtual currency, after updating their company policy to state that they now ban, using NETELLER to facilitate the trade, exchange, purchase or sale of Bitcoin, or any other virtual currency.

NETELLER is owned by the British global payments company Optimal Payments PLC. and their service is available in over 180 countries worldwide.

The news does come as the online poker world sees a steady rise in Bitcoin popularity. Americas Cardroom introduced Bitcoin deposits to the Winning Poker Network (WPN) at the start of the year, and 100 percent Bitcoin only poker room, Betcoin Poker, has recently been granted access to the WPN’s full suite of SNG and MTT’s for their Bitcoin users.

Professional poker player Bryan Micon is a site pro and affiliate manager for SealsWithClubs—the most successful Bitcoin only online poker operator to date and this is what he had to say about the news.

“NETELLER have taken quite a strong stance against Bitcoin. It seems like they are scared of the Bitcoin protocol, but because SealsWithClubs is a pure Bitcoin poker site, and NETELLER, to my understanding, has never been a player in the Bitcoin space, I doubt many users of either will be effected.”

Stan Higgins from CoinDesk managed to get a few words from Paul Davis, a barrister and solicitor with Isle of Man-based Group General Counsel, and he told Higgins that he believed the NETELLER policy change was an action that was largely in line with many other companies in the mainstream digital transaction industry.

NETELLER owners Optimal Payments have been making in roads in the burgeoning U.S online iGaming market. In October 2013, they were granted a permit to do business in New Jersey. They started to add NJ based iGaming outfits to their list of clients in 2014 and they have recently paid $225 million to acquire the California based TK Global Partners LP and Global Merchant Advisors in a further move to concrete their footing in that space.