Mastercard stops US gambling payments

Shockwaves went through the online gambling community in the United States recently when Mastercard suddenly and unexpectedly stopped supporting payments to online gambling Web sites, both online casinos and online poker rooms.

There is a common practice amongst online gambling operators in the US where gaming transactions are coded as a form of ecommerce, allowing US customers to use their credit cards to fund bets at online casinos and poker rooms. It seems that Mastercard has suddenly toughened its stance on the practice.

Following Mastercard’s actions, Visa quickly followed suit. It is likely that the payment companies and banks are now preparing for the UIEGA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) to come into effect. This will ban payment companies from facilitating any form of online gambling in the US.

Payment companies have until the summer to comply with the new guidelines to prevent them from funding online gambling, and this is why it came as a surprise that Mastercard had taken action so early.

Some industry insiders have expressed concern at the new regulations, however, because they claim that they are not clear in distinguishing between legal and illegal online betting. It remains to be seen just how much the move by Mastercard and now Visa will affect online gambling in the US over the coming months.


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