Visa Follows MasterCard Decision to Block Online Casino Payments

Submitted by Gary on Tue, 2010-02-23 at 21:05

Just a couple of weeks after MasterCard announced that they would no longer process payment from the US to online casinos, Visa has decided to follow suit. This means that online casino players from the US will be unable to make a deposit using their Visa cards.

Currently, there is no word on whether the same rule will apply for Canadians but players are hoping that it won’t. Making deposits to online casino accounts from a credit card is the quickest, easiest way to do it. There are plenty of other deposit methods but most of them have disadvantages such as a usage fee or a longer period of time for the deposit to be made (ex. 24-48 hours).

Neither MasterCard nor Visa has made the reasons for their decision clear but the assumption is that they are expecting the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to go through. If it does, online gambling will be illegal in the US forcing players to open offshore accounts and risk the consequences.

Should the UIGEA be overturned, MasterCard and Visa may want to re-think their decisions because the US market for online gambling is worth around $12 billion. Alternative payment methods are expected to do well as this decision will not likely stop US citizens from gambling online. PayPal and eWallets are popular alternative methods of payment.