Banks Not Playing Fair?
Added: Nov. 25, 2013
Have you heard the latest news from the United States about online gambling? Have you noticed that online gambling in the United States always seems to be just on the edge of being fully available and then something happens that slows down or stops the whole process. The latest stumbling block in the United States is being thrown up by financial institutions.
Here is how this is being played out right now. Major banks like Bank of America, American Express and even PayPal are out right refusing to process transactions to or from online gambling sites. Not only that, it does not seem to even matter whether the online casino sites are legal or not. The banks are digging in their heels, so to speak and refusing to play ball.
These banks say its not their fault; they point the finger at the United States Congress. They remind us that way back in 2006 a federal law was passed that specifically prohibited financial institutions from accepting money from or sending money to online gambling sites. This law, named the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or (UIGEA) has now become a major headache for the very few legalized online gambling operators in the United States.
Remember that as of now, there are already three states that have legalized online gambling of some form or the other within their state borders. These states are New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. Now that online gambling is on the very edge of becoming legitimate, these new online casino operators are just now finding out that the banks are not willing to play along.
Interestingly, the two largest credit card companies Visa and Mastercard have taken a different approach. They have modified and updated their systems and software to process transactions for legal online states. Yet that still doesn’t matter if the banks at the end of the line refuse to accept or send the appropriate funds.
Ooops, so much for a supposedly well-intentioned law. You know what they say about good intentions right? Not only that, apparently this is just now being discovered as the final kinks are being worked out for the launch of online casinos in New Jersey.
How will this play out? The answer is glaringly obvious; the UIGEA should be repealed so that the United States can move forward with the rest of the world.