American Banks Refusing Online Gambling Transactions

While online gambling is now legal in parts of the US, not all banks are willing to process related financial transactions. Amongst those refusing transactions are major firms such as PayPal, American Express, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

The banks are refusing transactions out of concerns regarding liabilities that could arise. The vice president of regulatory compliance at the American Banking Association, Steve Kenneally, said, “There are still things that can go wrong even with controls in place. Does the revenue I get offset the potential downside? There’s still the uncertainty over Internet gambling and the liability that could fall on a bank.”
In both Nevada and Delaware players have reported transactions being declined when they try to use their credit cards at online gambling site. A Nevada gaming official has said that the state is working with banks to try and solve the issues.

New Jersey is about to launch online gambling and problems with payments could result in a disappointing start. However, both Visa and MasterCard have said that they will process transactions in states where sites are legal.