The gambling business has always been a big business with high turnover of millions of money involved. In the united kingdom, the annual turnover, or the amount wagered joker gaming, on gambling activities is estimated to be in the region of 42 billion. Base on research, in 1998, the expenditure was around 7. 3 billion.
At present, online gambling addiction has become a very common problem for many people of different ages. The presence of over 1700 gambling websites on the internet, through interactive television and mobile phones, have caused a significant increase in online gambling addictions. In other words, the convenience of gambling at home and the ease of setting up a gambling account, have given online gambling an extremely seductive and attractive natureThere is a new law waiting to be signed by President Bush which was presented to Congress that is holding the $12 billion online gambling industry by a thread. It appears that Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, introduced the bill on Saturday by joining it to the Safe Port Act before Congress took its election recess in November.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that is expected to be signed by President Bush, will practically finish off all online gambling sites by making it illegal for any bank, credit card company or online payment system to process any payments being made to online gambling companies.
Surprised at the passing of this new debilitating law, the leaders in the online gambling industry took drastic measures and started to trade off stock on the London Stock exchange which erased $8 billion from the industry. PartyGaming, the world’s biggest online gambling site said that they would cease their ties with the 920, 000 active US customers they currently have only when Bush actually signs the new act.
Although the new law hasn’t yet been signed, the industry is already being drastically affected. PartyGaming’s stocks alone have dropped 60% ending up at a measly. 81 cents a share. Other sites like SportingBet and 888 Holding were also affected by the change and have since lost a lot of money on their shares. 888 Holding, for example, had a 48% decrease on their shares dropping them down to $1. 42 on the British Market and announced that it was going to no longer continue its online gambling business in the united states.
This isn’t the first Act, however, that has given the federal government power to break down the online gambling industry. Under the 1961 Wire Act, the federal government has the right to brake down online betting in sports, poker and other casino games that are considered to be illegal under the law.
This is seriously debilitating the industries economy because the US consumer market is responsible for 50-60% of the online gambling revenue. These critical laws against the online gambling site owners are forcing companies to shut down or move out but what’s clear is that they are no longer welcome in the united states.
The Madam Chairman of the Interactive Gaming Council, Sue Schneider, has predicted that over 500 companies running around 2, 300 online gambling sites around the world will be facing extinction and will most likely be wiped out of the industry all together. The small number of companies that manage to live through this incredible crisis will have to live with a huge cut back on their revenue and figure out new ways of growing again. The idea of opening up in the Asian market has become a favored idea for manyBuying chips and credits at online gambling web sites seems to become more difficult with each passing month. Legislative changes combine with policy changes at processing companies to create an environment that is constantly changing and sometimes difficult to keep track of.
The early days of online gambling offered few options for funding your casino or sportsbook account. Prior to the internet poker boom, most sites dealt primarily with credit card billing. A few casinos, mostly using the Microgaming software platform also used a platform by Surefire Commerce, which later became FirePay.
With few options, direct billing of credit cards remained the main option for years, despite the numerous headaches involved. The transactions were considered high risk by banks, so they carried stiff fees, and consumers would often dispute the charges if they did not win. A new alternative was desperately needed, and the PayPal electronic wallet soon stepped up to fill the voidIn March 2007, Neteller bowed out of the market due to increasing legal pressure from the united states. That is to say that the company stopped processing transactions for the US and Canadian customers that make up the majority of internet gambling customers. Since most people utilized the services provided by Neteller, the move left many wondering exactly what options are still available to them. There are, of course, several methods that are still viable options for funding an internet gambling account.