There is a lot of focus on Mastercard and Visa as they are linked to illegal gambling websites which were reported to be processing money for unlicensed operators who have been accused of defrauding UK customers. Nonetheless, both companies made a commitment to stop such transactions and still been processing the payments for the unregulated sites that offer casino and sports betting services. Both Mastercard and Visa were used on the prohibited gambling sites, while Mastercard was used on nine of them and Visa on two of them. These sites that have attracted millions of visits from UK customers are said to have closed their doors to business and have kept the money of their clients and have taken them for a ride through a number of problems gamblers. It has been established that users have made thousands of pounds worth of losses and some have been left with nothing. One victim lost £60,000, while another was able to sue an operator in Germany after losing more than £200,000. Despite the fact that the UK has strict gambling laws, such unlicensed sites are still active and can be found through search engines and social media ads. The Gambling Commission, the body that regulates the gambling industry, has received hundreds of complaints, but it has not been able to shut down illicit operators. The regulator has issued more than 770 cease and desertor letters and has reported more than 100,000 URLs for removal; however, many of the sites are simply returning under new names, a practice referred to as phoenixing. MPs in the UK have expressed their disappointment with Mastercard and Visa for not enforcing their policies. Iain Duncan Smith, the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform, demanded both companies to stop processing transactions to unlicensed gambling sites, stating that the latter’s involvement gives credibility to scammer. Mastercard said that it has ‘zero tolerance’ to illegal activities and will report the reported sites. Visa also shared the same view that it does not allow illegal transactions and has measures in place to work with its partners to shut down non-compliant merchants. However, the two companies disclaimed having direct relationships with gambling operators, instead, they pointed at the banks and third party payment processors like PaymentIQ. This last scandal has once again shown that the world of online gambling is complex and largely unregulated in terms of payment processing. Commenters are pointing the finger at everyone involved, from the payment processors to the banks to the merchants, and warning that UK consumers are still in danger of losing money, being scammed, and having their bets not covered.
Scamming UK Customers
