Carding Forum
Professional
Online gambling, while remaining the subject of discussions between its supporters and opponents, is actively functioning and developing. As reported in the report of KPMG eGaming Summit, the global market volume of online gambling by the end of this year will reach $ 30 billion (was $ 21.2 billion in 2008).Growth of more than 15% for such a short period, rare for a difficult time. And this is without the participation of such economic giants as the United States, Japan, China and South Korea, where a significant part of the gaming industry is banned. A number of experts believe that the future belongs to virtual gambling casinos, which have already become a real alternative to land-based gambling houses.
The first online casinos appeared only 15 years ago, and during this time, quite significant events have taken place in the industry. Various innovations were introduced, new original games were introduced and classic casino games were improved. But the most significant changes have taken place in the payment methods used in the online gambling industry. These changes are based on the features of the regulation of financial activities in the game process that have appeared in various countries.
The dynamics of the growing popularity of online gambling was clearly demonstrated by the data of a statistical study conducted by the Nielsen Group. According to the agency, online gambling is very popular among the British: the number of British visitors to such sites over the past year has increased by 3.2 million people, which is approximately 40%. This figure significantly exceeds the growth in the number of users of social networks, whose fans over the past year have increased by 2.2 million.
Against the background of globalization and the consequences of the ongoing crisis of the world economy, the interest in both traditional and Internet gambling business is understandable. And for some countries, gambling has become practically the basis of their economies. It is the online sphere of world gambling that is acquiring particular relevance today. This is proved not only by tens of billions of dollars in profits from operators of online casinos, poker rooms and betting sites, but also by the significantly increased activity of software developers for various mobile devices.
Despite its popularity, in many countries online gambling is prohibited by law, or very strictly regulated. As reported in the KPMG eGaming Summit report, the main reasons for this were the increased incidence of payment fraud in the past few years, both from the side of online gambling payment operators and from the side of users. Therefore, in the US, for example, in 2006, it was adopted Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which restricts gambling activities in most states. Also, many payment systems prohibit accepting payments in favor of online gambling (MCC (Merchant Category Codes) 7995). In connection with the adoption of this law, US residents were deprived of the right to make payments in favor of gaming sites using various payment operators, such as: Neteller, Citadel, Firepay, eCheck, Instadebit, Instacash, Moneybookers, PaySpark, ATMOnline, Nexum, Central Coin, Click2Pay, PayPal and ECOcard. That being said, Americans, however, can still use credit and debit cards, checks, wire transfers, prepaid credit cards, gift cards, and the like. as indirect tools, which we'll talk about a little later.
Europeans approach the process of regulating gambling payments much more practical than the US authorities, which focus more on social problems around online gambling. It is possible that the reason for this was the tangible income from online gambling during the difficult period of the financial crisis for many European countries. Perhaps, the deeper traditions of the gambling business (or maybe just its lobby) have an effect, but one way or another, payment restrictions in Europe are much softer.
The claims of the Europeans boil down mainly to the desire to protect their lotteries and local gambling operators from foreign competitors, instead of a policy of prohibitions that generates artificial workarounds. As consultant David Trunkfield of PricewaterhouseCoopers explains: “It has become clear to the authorities that it is not possible to abolish the existence of the Internet. After all, now many people play online. It seems to us that it would be better to make attempts to regulate the activities of operators and tax them. After all, otherwise, people will turn to offshore operators, and there the authorities will not be able to receive any income."
The European market, in contrast to the American one, in which the government by all means prevents online expansion, is growing, and rapidly, and today it is the largest in the world. The revenues of the European online gambling market surpassed the $ 12 billion mark back in 2010.
I must say that the movement to legalize the online industry started back in 2005. Then Britain was the first country in Europe to regulate the market. Her example was followed a little later by many European states, such as France (the corresponding law was adopted in April 2010) and Denmark (January 2012). Italy, after liberalizing its market last year, was able to earn € 150 million thanks to online gambling. Greece, Germany, Switzerland and Spain intend to start similar measures.
The unstable situation in the online gambling industry in Australia, where Internet games are very popular. It is especially noteworthy that without waiting for the authorities to adopt a special document to restrict the implementation of payments on the Internet, many Australian banks and Visa began a campaign of criticism of the government's plans to block payments in favor of gambling sites. Bankers are concerned that attempts to use payment systems as a tool to combat Internet gambling may negatively affect online shopping, and they call such intentions unfair.
What is the situation in the field of Internet gambling in Ukraine and other CIS countries? Somewhat ago, by a strong-willed decision of the authorities, the entire gambling business in Russia was exiled to special zones. As expected, this led to the emergence of numerous underground casinos. In Ukraine, too, in 2009, a ban on all types of gambling came into force , including the use of any types of electronic payments. However, as reported In March of this year, the Verkhovna Rada registered a bill with a number of proposals aimed at lifting the bans of 2009, because the practice of applying the ban has shown that, as in other countries, restrictions only lead to the prosperity of a parallel underground industry that does not pay any taxes. According to statistics, 20% of the adult population of Ukraine plays regularly and spends $ 2 billion a year on it. If the government makes a strong-willed decision, casinos can return to Ukraine.
Regardless of how online gambling is perceived in society, and even regardless of how exactly it is regulated by law, the desire of a significant part of solvent citizens to participate in games leads to the creation of payment instruments that meet legal restrictions. Let's consider some of their features.
Due to restrictions in the United States and in many European countries, intermediaries representing e-wallets have appeared on the market. With their help, you can easily transfer money from a credit card to your e-wallet, and then use these funds as needed in an online casino. Below is a small list of online gambling payment systems.
QuickTender
It is one of the few internet banking service providers available to US residents. Funds from this system are accepted in all major online casinos. Commission for using the system - up to 5%. The disadvantage of QuickTender is the slow payment speed.
Click2Pay
A distinctive feature of this operator is that the funds for playing at the online casino are taken directly from the user's bank account or from his credit / debit card. Also in this system, you can set a limit on the withdrawal of funds.
Neteller
Neteller is one of the most widely used banking systems accepted by many online casinos. It is available in 160 countries and supports most of the major currencies. The main advantage of this payment system is that online gambling winnings can be sent directly to your Neteller account.
ECO Card
A typical electronic wallet that works on the principle of prepaid debit cards. It was specially designed for the European market. Using an ECO Card account requires a European bank account or credit / debit card. Residents of the United States can register and use the ECO Card, but they are prohibited from using it to pay for gambling. The disadvantage of the system is the complicated registration process, which, on the other hand, provides a high level of security.
EntroPay
This is a kind of unique service that actually provides customers with a virtual Visa debit card. The system has the advantage of low fees, but EntroPay is not available in the US.
MoneyBookers
MoneyBookers is another payment system not available in the US. Accounts can be funded directly from the user's bank account or by credit / debit card. Making payments in the MoneyBookers system is a fairly simple process.
WebMoney
The most complex payment system in terms of functionality among those considered here. WebMoney is divided into separate wallets, each of which must be in only one currency. You can replenish your WebMoney account in various ways, including from a bank account. Like several of the above systems, WebMoney is not available to US residents.
Ukash
This online payment method is unique and works with vouchers. Ukash customers do not need to register, provide bank details, or proof of age - just an email address and mobile phone number. Ukash is not available to US residents.
The online gambling industry has shown incredible resilience and endurance even amid the global crisis. What will follow the growth in popularity of such games that have been observed over the past 15-20 years, what will be the online casinos of the future? Optimists believe that bans on online gambling and unregulated online entertainment will be a thing of the past. Online casinos in all countries of the world will operate on the basis of a license, players will play absolutely safe games controlled by the state, which will receive a certain profit from such establishments. Small online casinos, most likely, will not remain, many companies will begin to merge into single networks. But let's not forget that these are only subjective assessments, although not devoid of plausibility.
Confirmation of such predictions can be considered the fact that in June this year in the United States again started talking about the legalization of online casinos in the country. Currently, 19 states, legislatures and Congress are involved in this process. For half a year, work on these laws has been going on, and as the first results show, there are more people interested in the legalization of online casinos, although earlier there were more opponents. For example, of the recently proposed 11 bills, only one proposed banning casinos, while the rest advocated legalization. According to the forecast of the already mentioned PricewaterhouseCoopers, by 2025 the online gambling market will grow to $ 182.8 billion.
The first online casinos appeared only 15 years ago, and during this time, quite significant events have taken place in the industry. Various innovations were introduced, new original games were introduced and classic casino games were improved. But the most significant changes have taken place in the payment methods used in the online gambling industry. These changes are based on the features of the regulation of financial activities in the game process that have appeared in various countries.
The dynamics of the growing popularity of online gambling was clearly demonstrated by the data of a statistical study conducted by the Nielsen Group. According to the agency, online gambling is very popular among the British: the number of British visitors to such sites over the past year has increased by 3.2 million people, which is approximately 40%. This figure significantly exceeds the growth in the number of users of social networks, whose fans over the past year have increased by 2.2 million.
Against the background of globalization and the consequences of the ongoing crisis of the world economy, the interest in both traditional and Internet gambling business is understandable. And for some countries, gambling has become practically the basis of their economies. It is the online sphere of world gambling that is acquiring particular relevance today. This is proved not only by tens of billions of dollars in profits from operators of online casinos, poker rooms and betting sites, but also by the significantly increased activity of software developers for various mobile devices.
Despite its popularity, in many countries online gambling is prohibited by law, or very strictly regulated. As reported in the KPMG eGaming Summit report, the main reasons for this were the increased incidence of payment fraud in the past few years, both from the side of online gambling payment operators and from the side of users. Therefore, in the US, for example, in 2006, it was adopted Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which restricts gambling activities in most states. Also, many payment systems prohibit accepting payments in favor of online gambling (MCC (Merchant Category Codes) 7995). In connection with the adoption of this law, US residents were deprived of the right to make payments in favor of gaming sites using various payment operators, such as: Neteller, Citadel, Firepay, eCheck, Instadebit, Instacash, Moneybookers, PaySpark, ATMOnline, Nexum, Central Coin, Click2Pay, PayPal and ECOcard. That being said, Americans, however, can still use credit and debit cards, checks, wire transfers, prepaid credit cards, gift cards, and the like. as indirect tools, which we'll talk about a little later.
Europeans approach the process of regulating gambling payments much more practical than the US authorities, which focus more on social problems around online gambling. It is possible that the reason for this was the tangible income from online gambling during the difficult period of the financial crisis for many European countries. Perhaps, the deeper traditions of the gambling business (or maybe just its lobby) have an effect, but one way or another, payment restrictions in Europe are much softer.
The claims of the Europeans boil down mainly to the desire to protect their lotteries and local gambling operators from foreign competitors, instead of a policy of prohibitions that generates artificial workarounds. As consultant David Trunkfield of PricewaterhouseCoopers explains: “It has become clear to the authorities that it is not possible to abolish the existence of the Internet. After all, now many people play online. It seems to us that it would be better to make attempts to regulate the activities of operators and tax them. After all, otherwise, people will turn to offshore operators, and there the authorities will not be able to receive any income."
The European market, in contrast to the American one, in which the government by all means prevents online expansion, is growing, and rapidly, and today it is the largest in the world. The revenues of the European online gambling market surpassed the $ 12 billion mark back in 2010.
I must say that the movement to legalize the online industry started back in 2005. Then Britain was the first country in Europe to regulate the market. Her example was followed a little later by many European states, such as France (the corresponding law was adopted in April 2010) and Denmark (January 2012). Italy, after liberalizing its market last year, was able to earn € 150 million thanks to online gambling. Greece, Germany, Switzerland and Spain intend to start similar measures.
The unstable situation in the online gambling industry in Australia, where Internet games are very popular. It is especially noteworthy that without waiting for the authorities to adopt a special document to restrict the implementation of payments on the Internet, many Australian banks and Visa began a campaign of criticism of the government's plans to block payments in favor of gambling sites. Bankers are concerned that attempts to use payment systems as a tool to combat Internet gambling may negatively affect online shopping, and they call such intentions unfair.
What is the situation in the field of Internet gambling in Ukraine and other CIS countries? Somewhat ago, by a strong-willed decision of the authorities, the entire gambling business in Russia was exiled to special zones. As expected, this led to the emergence of numerous underground casinos. In Ukraine, too, in 2009, a ban on all types of gambling came into force , including the use of any types of electronic payments. However, as reported In March of this year, the Verkhovna Rada registered a bill with a number of proposals aimed at lifting the bans of 2009, because the practice of applying the ban has shown that, as in other countries, restrictions only lead to the prosperity of a parallel underground industry that does not pay any taxes. According to statistics, 20% of the adult population of Ukraine plays regularly and spends $ 2 billion a year on it. If the government makes a strong-willed decision, casinos can return to Ukraine.
Regardless of how online gambling is perceived in society, and even regardless of how exactly it is regulated by law, the desire of a significant part of solvent citizens to participate in games leads to the creation of payment instruments that meet legal restrictions. Let's consider some of their features.
Due to restrictions in the United States and in many European countries, intermediaries representing e-wallets have appeared on the market. With their help, you can easily transfer money from a credit card to your e-wallet, and then use these funds as needed in an online casino. Below is a small list of online gambling payment systems.
QuickTender
It is one of the few internet banking service providers available to US residents. Funds from this system are accepted in all major online casinos. Commission for using the system - up to 5%. The disadvantage of QuickTender is the slow payment speed.
Click2Pay
A distinctive feature of this operator is that the funds for playing at the online casino are taken directly from the user's bank account or from his credit / debit card. Also in this system, you can set a limit on the withdrawal of funds.
Neteller
Neteller is one of the most widely used banking systems accepted by many online casinos. It is available in 160 countries and supports most of the major currencies. The main advantage of this payment system is that online gambling winnings can be sent directly to your Neteller account.
ECO Card
A typical electronic wallet that works on the principle of prepaid debit cards. It was specially designed for the European market. Using an ECO Card account requires a European bank account or credit / debit card. Residents of the United States can register and use the ECO Card, but they are prohibited from using it to pay for gambling. The disadvantage of the system is the complicated registration process, which, on the other hand, provides a high level of security.
EntroPay
This is a kind of unique service that actually provides customers with a virtual Visa debit card. The system has the advantage of low fees, but EntroPay is not available in the US.
MoneyBookers
MoneyBookers is another payment system not available in the US. Accounts can be funded directly from the user's bank account or by credit / debit card. Making payments in the MoneyBookers system is a fairly simple process.
WebMoney
The most complex payment system in terms of functionality among those considered here. WebMoney is divided into separate wallets, each of which must be in only one currency. You can replenish your WebMoney account in various ways, including from a bank account. Like several of the above systems, WebMoney is not available to US residents.
Ukash
This online payment method is unique and works with vouchers. Ukash customers do not need to register, provide bank details, or proof of age - just an email address and mobile phone number. Ukash is not available to US residents.
The online gambling industry has shown incredible resilience and endurance even amid the global crisis. What will follow the growth in popularity of such games that have been observed over the past 15-20 years, what will be the online casinos of the future? Optimists believe that bans on online gambling and unregulated online entertainment will be a thing of the past. Online casinos in all countries of the world will operate on the basis of a license, players will play absolutely safe games controlled by the state, which will receive a certain profit from such establishments. Small online casinos, most likely, will not remain, many companies will begin to merge into single networks. But let's not forget that these are only subjective assessments, although not devoid of plausibility.
Confirmation of such predictions can be considered the fact that in June this year in the United States again started talking about the legalization of online casinos in the country. Currently, 19 states, legislatures and Congress are involved in this process. For half a year, work on these laws has been going on, and as the first results show, there are more people interested in the legalization of online casinos, although earlier there were more opponents. For example, of the recently proposed 11 bills, only one proposed banning casinos, while the rest advocated legalization. According to the forecast of the already mentioned PricewaterhouseCoopers, by 2025 the online gambling market will grow to $ 182.8 billion.
