| Constantly refreshed listing of articles about casino games, playing technique and the casino industry |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
***GambLux EDITOR ARTICLES*** |
 |
| |
 |
E-Wallets, E-Criminals and E-Gaming
[Saturday, November 04, 2006]
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Trust the criminal mind to stay one step ahead of the game. Since the Internet entered the consumer world, criminals have found a haven of credit card numbers and people willing to send off personal information for the sake of easy shopping. Easy pickings. In order to protect consumers, new forms of making online payment were born, keeping the consumer's information and wallets safe and secure from fraud. These so-called e-wallets are now the center of attention after the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on October 13th.
|
For years e-wallets have made it safer for online gamblers around the world to make payments at online casinos without worrying about the safety of their personal information. Although the largest e-wallet, PayPal, never accepted online casino transactions, other larger e-wallet companies have started slowly backing away from online casinos.
NeTeller, the official e-wallet for many online casino companies, has discontinued its services for US based customers, stating that it will continue to monitor the situation in the US during the 270 implementation period. Unlike other e-wallet companies, NeTeller is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange and is facing international pressure to follow the US ban. However, privately operated e-wallets, like privately operated online casinos, are more than happy to fill the vacuum and welcome customers rejected by NeTeller.
Most e-wallets, also referred to as third party processors, make their money by taking a percentage of each transaction. However these businesses are hesitant to reveal how much revenue they actually gain from the online casino industry. Christopher Costigan, the president of a well-known online casino trade publication, feels that the withdrawal of public companies like NeTeller will simply open up the industry to more loosely regulated e-wallets.
"There are always third party processors popping up that are really fly-by-nights. These are small companies in Central America, Latin American and even the Middle East." said Costigan. From what he knows about the industry, Costigan says that most of these smaller e-wallets typically operate for a few months and then vanish into the night, with the money from the casinos and their players.
Since e-wallets operate within an envelope of relative secrecy, protected because of the sensitive nature of customers' financial information, they have become major targets for the transfer of funds to illegal organizations and money laundering operations. Removing such services from US terrain is bad news, says Costigan.
Molly Millerwise, the director of public affairs at the US Treasury Department, could not agree more. "When such service providers are located in the US, they are subject to both state and federal controls that help to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. But overseas outfits are not subject to US laws. We track them on our radar screen as emerging trends that are vulnerable to financial crime." She says.
The weird thing about UIGEA is the way that it was made into law. It was tacked onto a Port Security bill intended to increase the safety of US citizens. It was as if the US Government was desperate to have a good feeling' about doing something against Internet Gambling, but couldn't be trouble to consider the broader ramifications.
What UIGEA's ban on online casinos is likely to do is send more and more Americans to sites that finance terrorism and other criminal activity. Unfortunately tracking or blocking e-wallet transactions is nearly impossible.
The real question is, has the US ban rescued Americans from online casinos, or has it put them in greater danger of financial fraud? Here's a simple suggestion: answer after applying common sense and logic!
|
| ARCHIVE GAMBLING ARTICLES |
|
|
ONLINE CASINOS PAYOUTS TABLE |
|
|
|
Sign-Up Bonus |
|
|
Welcome Bonus |
|
|
Online Tournaments |
|
|
| GambLux CASH HIGHLIGHTS |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| GambLux GAMBLING SURVEY |
|
|
|
| DEAL OF THE WEEK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Copyright © 2005 GLX. All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
|
|