Home » OCW News » February 2010 » Mastercard Blocks U.S. Online Gambling Fans

Mastercard Blocks U.S. Online Gambling Fans

Date published: 5 February 2010

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This week online gambling fans in the U.S. were shocked to learn that Mastercard has started blocking all online gambling-related transactions, despite the fact that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is only scheduled to be enforced from June 1 this year.

Credit cards are still one of the most popular payment methods for online gambling fans, which is why the Mastercard online gambling ban will undoubtedly have a large impact on online gamblers in the United States. The surprise move has online gambling experts questioning Mastercard's motives.

Some believe Mastercard is simply eager to 'tow the line' given the U.S. Justice Department's well-known propensity for going after companies that flout American anti-online gambling laws. Others believe the ban was timed to come in before the Super Bowl, traditionally an enormous gambling event.

But whatever the reason for it, Mastercard has removed itself from the online gambling arena. And interestingly, it seems that many online gambling firms are not overly concerned about this. According to reports, many online gambling websites have already removed Mastercard as a payment option.

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In the past Mastercard has tried to prevent online gambling transactions from going through, but the online gambling operators have simply removed the codes that identify the transactions, making it extremely difficult if not impossible for the credit card company to stop the transactions from going through.

It seems that now many leading online gambling firms have decided to remove Mastercard as a payment option instead of changing the codes again. Perhaps the reason for this is to prepare themselves for UIGEA, or perhaps it's because now days there are so many payment processors to choose from.

Online gambling fans now have a wider choice of payment options than ever before, and while credit cards are still popular, players are increasingly opting for quick and easy e-wallet payment solutions such as Neteller, Moneybookers, Firepay, Click2Pay, Citadel, WebMoney and many more.