Online Casino Deposits: Problems and Solutions
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Online Casino Deposits: Problems and Solutions
To put it simply, if you can’t deposit funds into an online casino, then you can’t play any of the real money games. And though many of the best online casinos with jackpots will try their hardest to keep the customer happy, with any number of different depositing methods, there are times when nothing seems to work. It’s frustrating, especially when you have the possibility of receiving a nice fat bonus for joining a new site. But just because you have a decent credit record, or have plenty of funds in the bank, isn’t a guarantee of acceptance.
Some gamblers are going to see their bank transfers and credit card deposits get rejected time after time. Though you might think that the problem lies with either Visa or MasterCard, that’s actually not the truth of it. This is a common misconception. But both these credit card processors have no problem with the depositing of funds into online casinos. No, the real problem lies with your bank. So, if gambling is legal, and you’re within a legal jurisdiction, then why are banks so apt at blocking your gaming transactions. Let’s have a deeper look….
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What Happens When Your Casino Deposit Is Rejected?
It seems bizarre that in this modern age, some institutions like banks can carry an “attitude” about how you spend your money. You’ll find that some banks are not comfortable dealing with gambling web sites and so impose an automatic block on them. In fact, banks appear to have a hierarchy when it comes to casino related activities. So, one bank may be liberal to the point that you can use your cards anywhere, whereas another bank will have a strong policy against certain businesses and therefore are unwilling to process those transactions. Back in the day, this used to happen on a regular basis with regards to websites featuring adult content.
Banks use preparatory software to weed out online casino deposits. Trying to put funds into an online casino will be automatically flagged as suspicious behavior and then blocked. Also, banks have been known to use manual checks to ensure that their policies are being adhered to. But what can make matters even more frustrating, is that some transactions might go through, and yet others on the same card, might not.
Online Casino Deposits: Offshore Casino Deposits Are Especially Difficult
Though some banks might not like the idea of online casinos, you’ll find many who are not happy with the idea of doing any business with those based offshore. these are gambling sites that are situated and operate outside of the countries which they serve. In other words, they don’t have a license from the markets where they play. Now, this doesn’t mean that they’re illegal entities. There are many countries that might enjoy laxer online gaming laws. But banks are by nature conservative beasts, and they will shy away from anything that’s not 100% legal. They don’t like taking chances. And the easiest way to ensure there’s no possibility of any problems is to simply disallow gambling transactions.
Banks Even Turn Away Legal Online Casino Deposits
Right now there are a number of countries and US states that are slowly introducing laws to enable online gambling. And even if these laws are now written up in the statute books, it may still take the banks some time to change their own policies with updated information. Essentially, the banks are nervous about any new industries, and in particular, those associated with moral hazards. Banks have shareholders, and they are not renowned for being the most liberal folks. So though gambling may be perfectly legal in a jurisdiction, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the banks will also be jumping in with their credit and debit cards allowing you to make online casino deposits.
It generally works like this: a bank is operating in a country that previously restricted gambling. Gambling then becomes legal. The law is changed. But the bank will drag it’s feet until the very last bit of paperwork is settled. A common occurrence would be in the US, where an individual state has passed gambling legislation, but this hasn’t been ratified at the federal level. Well, that’s what they like to say, but our bullshit detector says something else.
Many banks and their shareholders are not comfortable with processing gambling transactions. In spite of the potentially huge profits, they look upon gambling as a vice and something immoral. Remember that America was founded by Puritans. They are able to make and maintain enough profits without sullying themselves, then they prefer to do so. But there is another factor. This is that gambling, like adult content, has an extremely high rate of card misuse. This increases the risk of fraud and charge-backs. To that end, this is a perfectly sensible option. You’ll find that certain cards might be blocked from certain countries, simply because the risk of fraud is off the scale.
Online Casino Deposits: Why Are Banks Against Online Gambling?
The reasons are as varied as they are many. Here are but a few…
UIGEA
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is a law that came about in 2006. This prohibits any gambling business from serving a state where gambling has been ruled illegal. Though it doesn’t have the legal power to really ban anything, it gets it’s teeth from the fact that it can prevent companies from receiving payments from these states. And this law really works. With a narrow focus on the money, it’s able to scare away banks and payment processors. If you’re in the US and trying to send a deposit online, this is probably the number one reason why your bank will decline the transaction.
Black Friday
This refers to April 15th, 2011. For on this day, the US government bought forwards charges against the three largest players in the jackpot poker online casino world. And with one fell swoop, managed to completely kill the gaming industry in the US. The Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York managed to indict the bosses from these sites on charges of money laundering and bank fraud. The part-owner and vice president of Sun Trust Bank in Utah, John Campos, was arrested for misnaming poker deposits so they were able to bypass bank channels. He had been responsible for transactions from both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. For his troubles, he received a three-month prison sentence.
Wire Act
Going back to 1961, the Wire Act prohibits the offering of gambling across state lines. It’s interesting to note, that this act predates internet gambling by three decades. Well, maybe they had no idea what technological changes were coming down the pipeline, but the wording of the act has been liberally interpreted to apply to online casino deposits. Of course, this depends on who’s doing the interpretation! For example, in both 2011 and 2019, the US DoJ gave an opinion on this law. In 2011, they concluded that the act was specifically for sports betting. Yet in 2019, they changed their tune and said it included all forms of internet gambling and all jackpot games.
Interestingly enough, the State of New Hampshire sued the DoJ to prevent them from changing their laws. And they won. The state had a thriving lottery and was concerned that the new interpretation might affect their bottom end. But, on the whole, this legal change stuck with many states. And it’s the main reason why banks shy away from online casino transactions.
Alternative Online Casino Payment Methods
You’ll notice that most online casinos offer a number of different methods of how you can load up your account. You might not find some of these on regulated markets, but offshore gambling entities will offer the most varied number of deposit methods. Let’s have a look at what’s available.
Bitcoin
Not surprisingly, this cryptocurrency is very popular as a payment method. Though most of the public might only see it as a vehicle for investments its use as a payment method is slowly gaining mainstream acceptance. many offshore gambling companies are more than happy with BTC as it’s the perfect means of getting around UIGEA. Once you get the hang of how to download a wallet and move the BTC, it’s easy and fast. There is any number of TC exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini where y you can quickly set up an account and purchase your first BTC. Then you simply get the wallet address of the casino and send them the BTC.
Other Cryptocurrencies
There are a number of other cryptocurrencies available. These include Monero, Ehereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash. Most if not all are welcome across all the online casinos. Once again, just pop off to the nearest exchange to buy them.
Prepaid Cards
You can buy these cards from the nearest convenience stores or online. Just load them up with funds and you’re good to go. Each card has a unique PIN number, and it’s this you’ll use to deposit your funds.
Neteller and Skrill
These are what are known as “E-Wallets”. These are a good option if your regular credit or debit card is being declined. But keep in mind that if you’re US based, then they will not be of use to you, as, sorry to say, they are simply not available on your shores. If you’re outside the US, then you can even use these methods to fund your online casino deposits.
Should You Try Depositing With Rejected Credit Cards Again?
Well, it all depends on where you are. If you’re living in a “difficult” country, then you may only see a 30% to 50% chance of having your transaction go sailing through. The rest of the time will be a big fat rejection. You might want to try one more time. But just be wary, as you’ll come up as flagged if you try too many times with too many failures. A word of warning, that trying to access offshore casinos may be against the terms and conditions of your cards, and you might find yourself without either a card or a bank. We suggest that you look into your bank’s policies about gambling before you lose your card to too many wrongful attempts.
Some banks, like Bank of America, have very strict any online gambling stance and will can your card very quickly indeed. So do some homework first.
Conclusion: Online Casino Deposits
There is any number of reasons why your card has been declined when trying to pay your online casino deposits. You might well have found the best casino site to play, but you’ll find that both your geographical location as well as the policies of the bank in question will bear considerable influence on your chances of success. And then again, it’s perfectly possible that even if all these factors are positive, your transaction still gets stuck. Once this happens, be wary about trying again. If you want to hang onto your card, and maybe your bank account, then if might be easier to use another method. Either cryptocurrencies, E-Wallets, or pre-paid cards might be a much better solution.
The bottom line here is that the banks can be unpredictable with your online casino deposits. As long as you’re not breaking any laws, then just go ahead with these other payment options. You certainly don’t have to feel bad about having to rely on something different.
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