Bitcoin Cuts Online Poker Deposits

Bitcoin exchange Coinbase canceled access to a gambling deposits, as indicated by the report of a Seals with Clubs (SwC) by a player whose account was closed after making a deposit.

User Erroneously Refused

The user was informed by Coinbase that the company is “a regulated Money Service Business under the FinCEN division of the U.S. Treasury Department” and inaccurately claimed that gambling “is illegal under US law,” as the legalization is a state by state decision, not under federal jurisdiction, despite federal movement to block that legislation.

Coinbase blocked gambling deposits from inside and outside the US.

About Coinbase

As a leading Bitcoin exchange, Coinbase represents an exchange that processes Bitcoin payments, with an online wallet service enabling users to store Bitcoins, exchange them privately with others, and pay accepting merchant transactions. The website maintains a list of “Prohibited Businesses” which the Bitcoin exchange refuses to accept payments from.

List's True Purpose

The list is more of a disclaimer, but is constructed for the purposes of specifying the illicit and illegal activities which it refuse to support and avoid liability for, including criminal areas such as prostitution, stolen goods, extortion, counterfeit products and related illegal activities. Despite being legislated in many areas of the world, gambling is also on the list, which is generated by a private organization.

The exclusion should not be taken out of proportion, as those that want to play have to comply with this procedural issue by adding more encryption to their own accounts, by for example using a BlockChain account to unlink all transactions.

Huge Deal in the Offing?

Coinbase is backed by investors such as as Marc Andreesen, co-writer of the first internet browser that he converted into Netscape, one of the first internet providers. Because of Andreesen's further affiliations, Coinbase may be reluctant to appear as a company jumping any regulatory guns in the US, the result of a potentially enormous deal apparently under discussion.

Andreesen sits on the Board of Directors of Facebook, Hewlett Packard and Ebay, who are in discussions with Coinbase to become the exclusive Bitcoin processor for Ebay-owned Paypal.