Mastercard in Shock Ban on Online Gambling Transactions
Amidst the continuing confusion that surrounds the legality of online gambling in the United States, at least one major online payment processing company has seen fit to withdraw its services to internet punters. The giant MasterCard Company has decided that, despite the Federal Reserve and Treasury extending the deadline for the implementation of the UIGEA, discretion may be the better part of valour and, accordingly, has closed its doors forthwith to US residents looking to make a quick buck in cyberspace.
The ban will apply to all forms of online flutter including casinos, poker rooms and sports books and came at a time when the nation’s internet punters had been looking forward to a wager or two on the Super Bowl that took place on Sunday last.
It is not completely clear why the industry leader should have chosen to take this premature and far-reaching step when most hopes are focussed on a total reprieve that is expected to follow the acceptance of Barney Frank’s counter proposals for a regulated online gaming industry. It is equally unclear whether similar measures may subsequently be adopted by the other major credit and debit card brand, Visa.
One suggested motivation for the shock move by MasterCard appears to stem from recent legal action taken by the US against two Canadian-owned companies. Their owner, a Mr. Douglas Rennick is alleged to have processed over $350 million on behalf of online gambling outlets. Rennick failed to comply with a Grand Jury subpoena and is now being held in contempt while facing charges of possible fraud and money laundering. Clearly, a prestigious financial services provider such as MasterCard would not wish to find itself in similar circumstances and, instead, has chosen to withdraw from this incredibly lucrative market, at least for the present.
As mentioned earlier, confusion over what constitutes legal online gambling and what remains illegal still abounds with many states permitting online dog and horse racing wagers as well as the purchase of lottery tickets.
Whereas the ban will clearly affect a large number of US punters initially, it is unlikely to have any long-term effects. Online casinos and poker rooms offer plenty of alternative secure payment options and, in the majority of cases, will simply remove the MasterCard option from their payment procedures and continue as if nothing had happened.
The unshakeable determination of the betting public will not be so easily dampened and the ingenuity of those who manage the online gambling sites knows no bounds. Legal or otherwise, online gambling is here to stay whether in the US or anywhere else on the planet.