A Canadian processing company has decided to pay $9.1 million in order to drop the charges for illegal Internet gambling by processing money transfers between U.S. customers and online sportsbetting sites, online casinos and online poker rooms. Many other Canadian online payment companies had legal problems in the U.S as a result of the UIGEA, which prohibits banks, funding companies, credit card companies and other entities to process online gaming transactions. FirePay and Neteller decided to quit taking transfers from U.S customers and later stop taking gambling transferences and leave the online gaming business.

U.S Federal prosecutors expressed that a subsidiary of the Canadian company ESI Entertainment Systems handled over $2 billion in transfers from American gamblers in a period of four years. The company suddenly stopped all gambling movements and started collaborating with the U.S prosecutors after several high executives from another Canadian processing company (Neteller PLC) were held in custody after stepping on U.S. soil.

ESI Entertainment Systems has agreed a deal that will close the case and stop a possible court litigation, as part of the deal, ESI has declared itself guilty of criminal wrongdoing and will return a percentage of the profits made during 2003 and 2007 and will put into practice supervising procedures to block its for gambling and gaming purposes.

The case implicates electronic payments made by and to offshore gambling websites used primordially by American customers. Players were able to transfer money to accounts managed by ESI used to fund online sportsbetting wagers and other activities. ESI Entertainment Systems stated that its revenues have been drastically reduced after Citadel Commerce Corp. renounced to do business with U.S. customers.