Global Poker (GP) has been able to do what most couldn’t – offer an online poker portal legally to poker players in the US. It does so through an innovative model that allows it to not be classified as gambling, while providing both real and play-money games. Since its inception, it has relied on payment services provider PayPal to manage deposits and withdrawals, but that has now changed. As of the end of last month, GP is working exclusively with an alternative provider, WorldPay.

It took a lot of convincing for GP to convince PayPal that its model would be acceptable in the US. Things have been running smoothly; however, many users of the platform have said that the single payment method proved to be a limitation. This resulted in GP making the determination to drop PayPal for WorldPay.

According to Laurence Escalante, CEO of GP, “One thing our customers have made clear to us is that they would like more choice when it comes to payment methods. Worldpay’s extensive network and vast expertise allow us to give our players this choice.”

WorldPay offers more options for making payments and withdrawals than does PayPal, which will allow existing users to not experience any issues during the transition. Where PayPal excelled was through its speed and efficiency, traits that WorldPay will have to match if it expects to be the long-term solution.