Forum Moderators: skibum
I had heard AmEx already wouldn't allow you to use their cards on gambling sites, but I don't see all banks doing this.
With the global market, is it even possible to stop such an industry? Especially one so entrenched and currently lucrative?
There was an adult site with a bunch of .com domains registered through NetSol. The site owners were international (Israel, as I recall). The sites were cloaking and/or using misleading terms like "Disney" or "Mickey Mouse" to draw in unsuspecting visitors. The FCC got a ruling -the site owners did not answer cease & desist letters- that this was misleading advertising (or some such). The judge issued an injunction which the FCC then used to order NetSol to pull the plug on the registration. *Poof* No more problem.
What webmasters forget is that they are subject to communication and fair advertising statutes which can be very far-reaching. Banks and credit cards are, of course, very regulated. All it would take would be the hint of a problem, and the financial institutions would scuttle online gambling via credit cards in a heartbeat.
re credit cards:
"Wachovia Bank Card Services told the subcommittee that the company began declining Internet gambling charges in 1999. But Internet gambling companies found ways around the policy, making the companies appear to be merchants in non-gambling businesses."
The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee approved by a vote of 34 to 18 a bill that would allow law-enforcement authorities to obtain a court order prohibiting money transfers to Web sites engaged in gambling. Banks and credit card companies would then be required to stop payments to the sites named.
House aims to pinch Net gambling [news.cnet.com]
