Credit Cards and the Gambling Industry

Banks in the United Kingdom have taken on a policy that any transactions from online casinos will be considered cash advances and not a sale of goods and services. In practice, this means that the money used for gaming will be faced with a higher interest rate pretty annoying news for the ever-growing population of online gamblers in Britain.

Users will probably think twice now about using credit cards for transactions. Companies such as NETeller and other alternative forms of payment that offer cheaper and more convenient financial transaction experience for the users will be the ones to benefit from the banks´ new policy. The new policy will go into effect on the first of April. This is not an April Fool´s joke, unfortunately, even though the site operators would love it to be.

In the past, transactions were treated like normal purchases of goods and services. The banks have suddenly decided that the money used for gaming is no different that withdrawing money from an ATM. The banks viewed the purchase of virtual chips from the sites as a cash advance and therefore took the steps to increase the interest rate. The credit card has now become one of the most expensive methods of payment for online gambling think about this when you consider using your plastic card.