On June 20, 2012 USA online poker players could no longer register a new account at Intertops Poker, one of the oldest online poker sites in the industry. Anyone trying to do so will get the following message:

Thank you for your interest in Intertops! Unfortunately, we are unable to accept new customers from your country or region at this time. If you believe you received this message in error, please contact our customer support team.

US online poker players are naturally shocked, especially because Intertops, which processes payouts quickly, was one of the most popular US friendly online poker rooms. However, things have not changed in any way for existing US online poker players at Intertops Poker as Intertops has only stopped new US players from registering.

Intertops had been accepting players from the US ever since its launch in 1996, and today is one of the most highly reputed gaming sites online. Intertops is especially popular because it is quick and reliable in processing payouts as well as having a solid sports book.

The US online gaming community is also shocked because there is no obvious reason for Intertops to stop accepting new US players. Online poker sites usually turn their backs on the US market when they are no longer able to process payouts or when they have gotten into trouble with the US authorities. But Intertops has not had any such problem. Moreover, Intertops migrated from Microgaming to Cake Poker Network, which is now called Revolution Gaming Network, only because it wanted to accept US players.

Many in the online poker gaming world feel that, ever since Lock Poker acquired Cake Poker Network and renamed it as Revolution Gaming Network, Intertops has been submerged with new US registrations, making it difficult for the online poker room to deal with payments. Besides, the major interest for Intertops is online sports betting, not online poker. Owing to these circumstances, Intertops might have decided to stop accepting new players from the US.

One of the clauses on the Terms and Conditions page at Intertops reads as follows:

No sign-ups initiated from France will be accepted in the Sportsbook, Casino, or Poker Room. Intertops reserves the right to refuse new registrations from the US.

Many hope that Intertops has closed its doors to US players only temporarily, but nothing can be stated specifically at present. Meanwhile, other poker rooms on the Revolution Gaming Network haven’t stopped accepting US players and we recommend both Juicy Stakes Poker and Lock Poker as solid alternatives.