Visa Still Useable for Online Gambling in the US

Playing at online casinos in the US is not illegal, though the government would like you to think that that’s the case. Despite the fact that online gambling is legal, the national government still goes to great lengths to try and keep people from enjoying it.  

The fact is, there are no American gambling laws that explicitly state that gambling is illegal. The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 is the law that the government refers to when attempting to discourage gamblers, but according to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of appeals the Wire Act only refers to sports betting on an Interstate basis. 

The government’s only real attempt to control online gambling in the U.S. was introduced as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). This act has up to this point failed to go into force but it has still managed to spook a few companies. 

According to the UIGEA, banks can be penalized for helping players make deposits and withdrawals to accounts associated with online gambling. MasterCard has recently made an attempt to pull away from the online gambling sector as a result. Read more about MasterCard’s new moves here. 

When MasterCard made a move to turn its back on the online gambling industry, many gamblers and affiliate companies assumed that Visa was going to do the same, or even had to some extent. This is not true, and far from the case. 

In the world of online gambling, it’s not uncommon for a transaction to take a while. Timing and whether or not a transaction is successful often depends on payment processors. Hundreds of articles can now be found on the internet saying that Visa has gone the way of MasterCard and has stopped processing gambling payments. 

On Visa’s website it’s explicitly stated that the company has no problem with internet gambling, but where a player resides may influence their transaction. Text on the site reads as follows: “Internet gambling may be illegal where you live,” implying that a transaction may not be processed. Luckily for U.S. residents, Internet Gambling in the United States isn’t illegal. 

Not only can players make deposits with Visa, the company boasts that payments can be made to Visa cards and gives gambling winnings as an example. On top of that, when referring to their Mobil Commerce program they state that “Ticket services, mobile gambling, vending machine payments, road charges and service subscriptions are just a few of the applications.” 

Readers should not believe the hundreds of articles that can be currently found saying that Visa too, has turned its back on the gambling industry. Most of the articles concerning this subject are based on predictions and flawed judgement. If a player feels uncertain about making a payment through Visa, there’s a plethora of other banking methods available on the internet and ready to take it’s place.