Online Gambling Causing Credit Card Debt

It is the latest craze at the moment and everyone seems to be enjoying gambling at home with the increase of poker sites on the internet, but its not good news if you are running up debts on your credit card. I don't know about you but it seems that I have a misconceived perception of time when I am sitting at my computer; time just seems to fly by. The longer you are gambling on an internet poker site, the more money you are spending.

Online gambling is being seen as pushing up consumer debts and that's not good for the UK economy. Figures from the government have revealed that the amount of money spent on gambling last year was £42.8 million; in 2001 that figure was only £8.6 million. It is a perturbing sharp increase. Internet sites that have been registered outside the UK have not been included in the government figures of money spent.

The glamorization of gambling, especially poker, by celebrities at the moment is partly to blame for the rise in gambling. Sitting at home on your computer can undermine your ability to spend your money wisely. Internet poker sites or casino sites allow you to insert your credit card details; once your details have been entered you can continue gambling up to your credit limit. Some gamblers are maxing out numerous credit cards at a time to try and win back money they have lost with the Debt Advisor group seeing some individual debts as high as £100,000. Casinos have a strong cash culture unlike internet gambling where it is your credit card that does the spending. Using cash instead of your credit card makes you more aware of the amount you are spending.

The growth of gambling online in the next five years is predicted to be around 22% a year while playing poker online is said to rise by 44% a year. Gambling through your mobile phone is now also being offered by companies which could see even higher debts being accumulated.

Gambling has always seen its fair share of creating debt problems but with easier accessibility it may cause more households to suffer from unmanageable debt. Other household members are usually unaware that there is a debt problem looming not realizing how much is actually being gambled, the more desperate people become to win back their money the higher the stakes become seeing people usually losing more and more.

If you are suffering form credit card debt problems through internet gambling there are many organizations that can help you. Seeking help sooner rather than later will prevent even more debt.

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the credit card comparison sites http://www.credit-cards-info.com/ and also http://www.creditcards121.com/

The Truth About Online Gambling and Credit Cards

The credit card companies lobbied for laws governing online gambling with credit cards, although one would think that people would be the ones hesitant to their credit or debit cards online.

The main reason behind the shift in laws is that too many people have made it a habit to create debt that they cannot repay. Lawsuits have pardoned the debt, paid lawyer fees in full and left credit histories untouched. This is good for the people in debt, but bad for the credit card companies who end up losing a lot of money.

Response from Credit Card Companies

Charge card companies have decided to exact stricter regulations regarding credit balances by amending the terms and conditions surrounding receiving a card. Now you find higher interest rates incurred for particular transactions, so hopefully the user thinks twice before creating debt in certain ways.

Avoiding Financial Difficulty

Many people struggle with gambling addiction and online gambling with charge cards make it easier to spend large amounts of money than when gambling at a land-based casino. Many land-based casinos even advise players to leave their cards at home, so that they are not tempted to spend more than they can afford. Visiting online casinos makes this discipline even harder because generally you access these games from home. It is best that you then have someone you trust take responsibility of your credit and debit card while you play so that you do not end up making rash decisions regarding your money.

What Does the Law Say?

Some countries and states have designated areas where gambling is legal and those where it is not. This means that you could easily be breaking the law when pursuing online gambling with credit and debit cards. Online gambling is already illegal in the United States of America and this has led to interesting convictions in courts whereby credit card companies are being persecuted for allowing the activity to take place instead of the player for gambling online.

No More PayPal

You can no longer use PayPal as a direct payment option for online gambling and the majority of accredited online gambling sites have removed any mention of PayPal. This means that players do not have the option of transferring money from their MasterCard or Visa to PayPal accounts in order to gamble online.

Credit institutions each have their own policies regarding online gambling with credit cards and it is best that you familiarize yourself with those that apply to you and your credit card company. American Express, for instance, offers credit services managed independently from other banking institutions, while MasterCard and Visa is affiliated with many different banks around the world.

If you still want to use your credit card for online gambling, some casinos have developed a method that bypasses PayPal and the credit card bans against online casinos. Simply put, you use your credit or debit card to buy a "gift card". You then use the gift card in the online casino, and MasterCard, Visa or other card company sees a purchase for a gift card.

C.L. Hendricks, of Web Content Provider has been a Jill-of-all-trades and become an expert in some, including the Top Ten Online Casinos, which allow her to have fun without spending a lot of money.