Credit Cards Making a Comeback as Payment Method

Do you remember the days when credit cards were the most popular payment method when sending money to an online casino? While you can still use MasterCard and Visa to make deposits it is a lot more difficult and many people avoid them altogether. Could credit cards be making a comeback?

You probably already know that the United States is slowing allowing more online gambling but it is on a state by state basis. We know about Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware but other states are looking at getting involved as well. When the UIGEA came into effect in the United States it meant that MasterCard and Visa had to put in some rules regarding online gambling transactions. With more states looking at online gambling, the credit card companies are making some changes.

MasterCard has gotten a head start as they are already dealing with Ultimate Poker and accepting MasterCard transactions from gamblers in the state of Nevada who make deposits with the company. All it takes is a different classification under the Merchant Category with MasterCard and the problems with the UIGEA are bypassed. MasterCard simply added some more codes which means they are fine because online poker is legal now in the state of Nevada.

Visa is a bit behind MasterCard but they have realized what is going on and they don’t want to be left out. They have a merchant verification program so if a company is deemed valid they can get a specific code and won’t be blocked as an online gambling company. Whether the U.S. government accepts Visa doing that is another story. But with more and more states looking at online gambling it is becoming clear that Visa and MasterCard will be popular ways to fund accounts for gamblers.