Not everyone gets VISA green light for gambling transactions
For a while, it was that simple: Since April 2011 (or even earlier for many companies) and the U.S. Department of Justice explicitly stating that banks should not process online gambling transactions under the threat of legal action, credit card companies have simply said no Everything they see comes from internet gambling sites.
Since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) ended legal online banking transactions for gambling sites, Merchant Category Code (MCC) 7995 means there is little that credit card processors can do if they want to comply with the strict law.
But with Nevada's first legal online gambling site up and running, and more on the way, the game has completely changed and is causing some trouble for both sides of the banking community.
Legal Transactions and Illegal Transactions
The headaches aren't necessarily new. Many internet gambling sites use seemingly innocuous online purchase "skins" for Black Friday transactions in order to process payments, putting the onus on clearing banks to find out who is actually legitimate. Now, the state lottery's move to online purchases, and the recent launch of UltimatePoker.com, a legal Internet poker site for Nevada residents offered by Stations Casinos (Caesars could launch its own WSOP site any day), are all part of the story. The ball wax turned into a big mush. Mastercard is already on the Ultimate website as a deposit option but not a withdrawal option, while VISA is still figuring out how to separate the legal wheat from the illegal chaff on these issues.
Verification required
To differentiate between illegal and legitimate payments, VISA now introduces the Merchant Verified Value (MVV) registration program, which allows approved merchants to bypass the rejection process by overcoming certain hurdles. Among other things, merchants must demonstrate that they have legal authorization for the gambling options they offer; a legal opinion clarifying that the dealer complies with all applicable state and federal laws; and third-party certification showing that the provider has appropriate software and controls in place to ensure compliance Legal parameters, and the registration fee is $5,000 (which, frankly, is par for the course for a gambling site).
There is no doubt that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to regulation of banks and online gambling sites. Hope no one encounters anyone.
Read also:
- PAPSA is not a panacea for U.S. black market sports betting
- Judge rules against PokerStars in Atlantic Club dispute
- WSOP European Schedule Adds High Roller Events
- Toronto casino plan scrapped by city council
Source: www.casino.org
