Online Casino Style: News - Mastercard Problems in NY

09/28/2010		Online Casino Style - News: MasterCard Problems in NY
Home History Games News Dictionary		An alarming new conflict has arisen in the state of New York this week, with the confirmation that credit card services carrying the MasterCard logo may have problems with some of their gambling purchases, namely in relation to the New York Lottery. For one of the most liberal states in the US, the New York industry seems to run into a lot of trouble with authorities, the latest of which is in relation to lottery purchases ringing up with higher interest rates and fees, similar to those associated with cash advance purchases. But that doesn’t mean that the online gambling industry won’t fight back, with an official statement being issued this week by the Lottery that claims the policy changes noted in recent weeks by MasterCard are illegal. Jennifer Givner, a spokesperson speaking out on behalf of the Lottery, said that their official stance is that the fees and rates changes associated with ticket purchases is illegal, as state law stipulates that you cannot charge more for the purchase of a lottery ticket than the face value of said ticket. With MasterCard charging $10 fees and hiking the interest rates up to 24.9 percent, as stipulated by the rules for cash advances, that law is reportedly being broken. The credit card company has been doing so since the first of June in some cases, Givner said to the Associated Press. A response has been had from MasterCard, with spokesman Chris Monteiro claiming that the different banks and companies that host the cards actually set the fees and rates, with the mastercard firm itself only receiving a fee for their processing services. Confirmation has been had from MasterCard, however, stating that they were indeed processing the transactions as if they were cash advances. Prior to the change, again originating with the MasterCard brand, the lottery ticket purchases were treated like fees for government services, not like dog and horse racing. Givner says that it was the Master firm that changed the processing code, not resulting from cooperation among hundreds of client brands. It’s a situation that has clearly alarmed the online gambling community, as nickel and diming seems the last resort for companies to get all they can from gambling products that would normally be fine. With plenty of attention being paid to the internet casino legalization efforts in Washington, perhaps credit card companies assume that no one is watching more traditional players’ rights – an incorrect assumption they will soon discover.

09/28/2010

Online Casino Style - News:
MasterCard Problems in NY

An alarming new conflict has arisen in the state of New York this week, with the confirmation that credit card services carrying the MasterCard logo may have problems with some of their gambling purchases, namely in relation to the New York Lottery. For one of the most liberal states in the US, the New York industry seems to run into a lot of trouble with authorities, the latest of which is in relation to lottery purchases ringing up with higher interest rates and fees, similar to those associated with cash advance purchases.

But that doesn’t mean that the online gambling industry won’t fight back, with an official statement being issued this week by the Lottery that claims the policy changes noted in recent weeks by MasterCard are illegal. Jennifer Givner, a spokesperson speaking out on behalf of the Lottery, said that their official stance is that the fees and rates changes associated with ticket purchases is illegal, as state law stipulates that you cannot charge more for the purchase of a lottery ticket than the face value of said ticket.

With MasterCard charging $10 fees and hiking the interest rates up to 24.9 percent, as stipulated by the rules for cash advances, that law is reportedly being broken. The credit card company has been doing so since the first of June in some cases, Givner said to the Associated Press. A response has been had from MasterCard, with spokesman Chris Monteiro claiming that the different banks and companies that host the cards actually set the fees and rates, with the mastercard firm itself only receiving a fee for their processing services.

Confirmation has been had from MasterCard, however, stating that they were indeed processing the transactions as if they were cash advances. Prior to the change, again originating with the MasterCard brand, the lottery ticket purchases were treated like fees for government services, not like dog and horse racing. Givner says that it was the Master firm that changed the processing code, not resulting from cooperation among hundreds of client brands.

It’s a situation that has clearly alarmed the online gambling community, as nickel and diming seems the last resort for companies to get all they can from gambling products that would normally be fine. With plenty of attention being paid to the internet casino legalization efforts in Washington, perhaps credit card companies assume that no one is watching more traditional players’ rights – an incorrect assumption they will soon discover.