As the legalization of online gambling in the US is taking place in various states, the hindrance that the players have been having is in depositing and withdrawing money. This problem will now be alleviated as Skrill, formerly known as Moneybookers, enters the market of online gambling. Skrill announced its intentions of entering the market a few days after Paypal and Neteller also made their intention to enter the market known.

Skrill has already been approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) to start processing payments in the state. Despite Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey having legalized online gambling, players find depositing and withdrawing money from the gambling sites difficult. The same problem is faced by the players of online poker from sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt.

One of the options that the players had was the use of credit cards. This has proven challenging with providers such as Visa and Mastercard taking long to process the money while American Express refused to process altogether. These difficulties are some of the reasons why the iGaming in New Jersey is yet to reach its potential with the revenues being less than what was estimated during legalization.

With Neteller, Paypal and now Skrill entering the United States gambling market, the expectations are that revenues will increase in the industry due to the competition they will provide.

According to the Vice President of Skrill, Joe Hall, the company is targeting a 99 % market penetration rate in the US. It is attempting to reach the same popularity levels that it has in Europe where it dominates the market. Despite its ambitions in the US, Skrill should not forget that there is Neteller and Paypal blocking its way since the two combined to have more than 300 million users all over the world.

Considering the challenge that Skrill would be facing in penetrating the US market, Hall said that the company has identified two phases that it will require.

First phase- this phase comprises launching their product in the new regulated online gambling market by complying with the regulations that have been set by the gaming regulators. Skrill has completed this phase by launching in New Jersey and having partnerships with Tropicana, Virgin Casino and PartyPoker.

Second Phase- on this phase Skrill will localize their products to the US market. This is where Skrill is today and it is the critical phase. It comprises changing the language and tone, adding new options of payment processing and having a US focused app. They should also work with the new businesses in the US.

For Skrill to achieve its goal, it must have increased brand awareness in these states. This task can be a hassle considering that PayPal has dominated the online payments market in the US. Most people use PayPal to make their online daily transactions. Skrill is new and it needs patience, clever marketing, time and planning for it to increase its awareness in the United States for it to dethrone providers such as Paypal and to contend with Neteller.