Online Gambling Was Designed to Bolster Atlantic City Casinos Like Trump Taj Mahal
New Jersey’s online gaming leaders hope to increase revenues through eliminating illegal operations, while securing more cooperation from the credit card companies which process payments. Gaming regulators and company executives believe better implementation is key, but squeezing out bad operators should help drive more customers to the licensed gaming sites. The message being sent is there is no one answer to the question of why New Jersey’s online gaming sites have underperformed in the first six months of iGaming.
Illegal Online Gambling Websites
New Jersey’s regulators are targeting specific affiliates who tout illegal online casinos and poker rooms. The state gaming authorities listed 5 or 6 affiliates which were approved months ago to send customers to the licensed online casinos in New Jersey. These large affiliate sites have links pointing to unlicensed casinos, too, which regulators believe is harming the revenues of the licensed gaming operations.
Because these websites are known to be approved by the state regulators, the links create the appeared that the banned gaming sites are licensed and approved by the state. Thus, New Jersey residents who want to gamble legally may be choosing illegal gambling venues out of confusion.
Appropriate Criminal or Civil Actions
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office sent letters to these affiliates this week, asking them to take down the offending links. The letter stated, if the affiliates did not remove the links to unlicensed sites, the attorney general’s office would have to “appropriate civil or criminal sanctions”.
Kerry Langen of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement said affiliates linking to both licensed and unlicensed casino “may lend the appearance” that the sites are affiliated with legal gambling. Whether the affiliate sites will respond to the cease and desist orders is left to a future update.
Credit Card Company Appeals – Visa and Amex
Another common explanation for the slower-than-expected growth among New Jersey’s gaming officials have appealed to the brand name credit card companies to allow more deposits to succeed.
One New Jersey gaming executive estimated that only 44% of all Visa credit card deposit attempts succeed. In 56% of the cases, the card declines. When such frustrations occur, a gambler may not take the additional trouble of finding an alternative payment method, such as Neteller or Skrill. Many credit card users become concerned their card declined, and therefore are more interested in learning if their balance has been met.
In the case of American Express, 100% of all deposit attemtps have failed. Amex simply does not support online gambling in New Jersey. Jersey gambling leaders would like to see payment options like American Express be offered. The fewer gamblers who refuse to play because their credit or debit card will not work, the better it is for the gaming industry of New Jersey.
MasterCard has a much better record than either of its two rivals. MasterCard has a 73% success rate. While gaming officials say they would like to see all of the credit card companies provide more support for their new operations, MasterCard is at least a reliable payment option. Unfortunately, MasterCard does not allow withdrawals–a perennial problem in online gambling.
Licenses for Cash Payment Services
One New Jersey official would like to see a more strenuous licensing process for electronic cash payment services. State Senator James Whelan says he would like to see all money services receive a “casino service industry license” from the Division of Gaming Enforcement. At present, a payment option only needs “ancillary licenses” to process payments for New Jersey online casinos.
Whelan says such a licensing process might involve more time and greater resources allotted by the state government, but full licensing oversight would assure banking institutions payments are legit. With such considerations out of the way, credit card associations (of banks and merchants) would be more likely to approve payments quicker and with greater authority.
