If you have not been awake over the last week and a half you will surely now be awaking to some of the most shocking news related to online gambling you have ever heard. Sure, the UIGEA thing was bad enough, but that was 2006 and we were able to cope.......eventually.
The news now of Mastercard pulling out of the US gambling market may not have been a surprise to some but to us and many online casino players the news has been like getting an arrow in the heart with the note attached, " You can't use Mastercard in the US anymore - Oh, and others will follow".
Whilst the current situation is only really affecting players from the United States, the knock on effect and with Visa, the other major credit card looking more and more likely to join suit and also pull out of the US market will only heap more pressure on our European counterparts to follow suit.
Even the current situation in Europe is now causing certain ripples with the possibility of each country only allowing their own licensed gambling institutions access to players within their own countries. This would and could mean those living in Paris would not be able to gamble at an establishment based in the UK and would therefore be limiting the choice to the French to establishments in only their country.
Panic? Maybe. Every time things look to be heading in a better direction for the gambling community something crops up to unsettle the nerves. The only real answer that will conclude this horrible mess would be the abolition of the UIGEA which, prior to Mastercard pulling out, was looking to be gathering steam in the right direction.
There does seem to be more behind this than meets the eye and it is obvious that Mastercard are under some type of pressure to cut all ties.
Who would pile this pressure on, and for what reasons, is probably the biggest question of all.
Would the US Government want US citizens to stop spending money when the financial crisis is not even close to coming to an end. Would mastercard feel there is too much corruption involved in online gambling for them to take part?
Of course not, lets not forget that they and Visa will have a big part to play in the World Cup this year in South Africa, and at World Cups, people gamble, normally with credit cards, do they really not want a percent and a half of the FIFA cake?
I for one do not know the answers to any of these questions but something has got to give and those answers need to come sooner rather than later and this will have a bigger effect on the use of the internet than some "high powers" may realise.
