Banking at Online Casinos as a U.S. Player

January 22, 2009 | Article Category: Casino Banking

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Finding online casinos that will accept U.S. players has become increasingly difficult since the old Bush administration passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October 2006.

The Bush administration wanted to abolish online gambling, and instead of simply making it illegal, they decided to attack the industry where it would be most effective in stopping U.S. citizens from gambling online. Online gaming sites were attacked at the place that would hurt them the most - in their collective wallet! Online players and casino websites are unable to continue to operate if they are unable to do their banking.

While there are still online casinos that do accept U.S. players, a number of them have trouble receiving funds from their U.S. players. While it is not very clear to players whether playing in online casinos is legal or not according to the UIGEA, it is certainly clear that U.S. banks are not meant to process online gambling transactions. It seems that on a Federal level, it is not illegal for U.S. citizens to play in online casinos, as long as their state laws have not made it so.

More and more online casinos who do accept U.S. players are having difficulty receiving payments from their U.S. players, as there is much difficulty experienced in processing credit cards. Even some eWallet solutions, such as NeTeller have been banned. Because of this, a number of other solutions to enable players to deposit money at online casinos have been found.

Firstly, some of the eWallet solutions are still able to be used. Players are able to go into their land-based banks and send a wire transfer to the Internet gambling site they wish to play in. Western Union transfers, for which cash must be paid, can send money to the sites. A number of players now use pre-paid debit cards, some of which work well, and some of which are questionable. Instant checks, or eChecks can be used. This method is similar to wiring money from a bank account, but the funds become available immediately.

One of the more common ways to transfer funds at the moment is via a pre-paid phone card. Players top up their phone cards and then transfer those funds to their chosen casino.

Having said all this, there are still a number of websites that are still able to process credit card transactions. Casino People feature a number of casinos that accept U.S. players. All of the featured casinos have processing solutions that enable them to accept more than 98% of credit card transactions that are made from U.S. players on their sites.

While players can look around and try any number of casinos, it is certainly advisable to play in one of the casinos featured on the Casino People website, as this will reduce the stress and hassle associated with trying to find casinos that do accept U.S. players, and then trying to find a way to transfer funds to their chosen casino.

Internet gambling sites, and those players wishing to gamble online, are hoping that the Obama administration will find a solution to the problems brought to them by the Bush administration.

Listing of US accepting online casinos here »

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