Proposed New Internet Gambling Legislation Prohibits Use Of Credit Cards

In an attempt to better protect consumers of internet gambling services from fraud, money laundering and theft, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) recently introduced legislation to help create more uniform federal standards throughout the industry.

No Credit Cards; Only Poker

However, the new legislation includes provisions that would prohibit the use of credit cards and limit permissible gambling activity to poker. By including such restrictions, some in the gaming industry feel this consumer protection measure misses the mark and won't apply to the vast amount of consumers who prefer an alternative form of online gaming entertainment.

There is a belief that the Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013, while being of good intent, ultimately misses the mark with the legal language that excludes the use of credit cards.  

Federal Regulation Necessary

All agree however that as the decision to allow intrastate Internet gambling activity grows and continues to move from state to state, federal regulation seems the only sure way to provide consistent laws that protect the industry and the rights of all Americans.

Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative said "The prospect for congressional action has significantly improved now that we're down to the decision over whether Internet gambling activity is going to be regulated on a state-by-state basis or by the federal government ...Congress should be encouraged to seize, not cede regulation of the industry. Moreover, the Internet, online commerce, and online gambling are by nature interstate activities, demanding the attention of federal, not state, regulators."

A Reason For Credit Cards

In addition, the argument in the online gaming world is that yes, there is a need to protect consumers and to stimulate the economy and provide more jobs, but there is no logic behind prohibiting the use of credit cards.

Mr. Waxman addressed this issue by saying "Credit card use is encouraged by regulators in other countries because they offer far greater consumer protections than other payment vehicles ...There's no way rules can be developed to stop people from finding a way to use funds from their credit cards to gamble online. It'll just make the transaction and transfer of money a lot less transparent. "