Paypal Online Gambling About-Turn Welcomed

Perhaps you have forgotten the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that occurred last year when Paypal, one of the biggest and best-known online payment processors, reversed its policy on online gambling and ceased to accept transactions from internet casinos.

The company’s decision shocked players and service providers alike but, considering the volatility and uncertainty surrounding the industry at that time, it was perhaps understandable that Paypal chose to remove itself from any possible firing line.

News broke on Saturday last that the payment facilitator has, once more, reversed its policy towards internet punters. A statement from the company revealed that it intends to reinstate its support for online gambling sites and that it will re-introduce its services on a phased basis, tackling one online venue at a time.

The first operation to have re-opened its Paypal facility was the popular UK site, Ladbrokes and it did so on the very day of the announcement. It appears that their lead was noted by another highly-respected venue, 32Red who have also added Paypal to their list of secure online transaction services. It is interesting that these two early adopters were also the two online casinos that received some of the highest accolades at the recent industry awards ceremony.

Considering the reputations of these two, their expression of continued confidence in Paypal seems certain to open the floodgates for other online casinos to follow suit and, likewise, see the company reclaiming its former position of prominence as the most popular and trusted provider of online transaction processing to the internet gaming industry.

A number of competitors have attempted to emulate the Paypal operation but none has really succeeded in equalling their performance. Simplicity, security and reliability have always been the three main pillars of the Paypal business, making it the first choice for most online merchants,z` shoppers and players alike.

What prompted the about-face by the online payment giant? It seems likely that the growing trend towards legalization and regulation of online casinos and poker rooms in Europe and, more recently, in Canada is just the thin end of the wedge and that many more nations, cash-strapped from the recent global recession, are starting to see the potential for financial salvation that lies in the revenues that governments can expect from a licensed industry with a customer base of millions.

Italy was first to adopt the new open-minded view of internet gambling and has achieved dramatic results in record time, while France and Canada have followed hot on its heels. It certainly looks as if Paypal’s strategic re-entry into the market was every bit as well-timed as its strategic withdrawal.