Online Gambling Commences and Banks Stall!

What the heck is going on? As you know, New Jersey commenced its online gambling three days ago, while Delaware was the first to do so, along with Nevada. But this may all be a moot point as it has been reported that US banks and processing of payments are stalled. According to recent news, the culprits are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, American Express, and PayPal are not accepting payments for online casinos. What’s the problem? Apparently Visa and MasterCard are worried about liability issues for those who are not of age and who gamble online. Really? Where have they been? Also, American Express states they have never accepted online transactions from casinos. These three states in the US are at the forefront of legalized online gambling, and after all the wrangling and legislation the banks refuse to accept payments? What’s the beef?

The Three-State Problem

Delaware began its online gambling on October 31, 2013, but players quickly found out that Visa and MasterCard transactions were rejected by many banks.
Nevada began its online poker betting in April of 2013, and players have been faced with problems opening accounts.
New Jersey has not yet issues any reports regarding payment processing.

Visa and MasterCard Fall Short

After specifically stating they were accepting online casino transactions where online gambling is legal, it seems that the problem with Visa and MasterCard boils down to the card issuers. So then the problem stems from individual banks? How ridiculous is this? Now it seems that Bank of America does not allow processing of payments, but stated they will “review and decide in the future.” Wells Fargo doesn’t accept online payments either. Add to this list Discover and PayPal. What’s the Answer? Apparently each state will deal with the individual card issuers. Too little, too late!