Processing CREDIT CARD Payments FOR Online Betting
Accepting
credit card payments has becoming a
necessity to succeed today, for any
business. This is particularly
applicable when you have an online
business. If your website is unable to
accept credit card payments then most of
your customers will find one where they
will accept it.
However, if you are
involved in sports betting then there
are other issues that you should deal
with. This article explains the working
of payment processors related to online
betting and the many problems which
prevail in the industry.
“Sports Betting Payment
Processing” basics
The websites dealing with
this have to face a unique condition.
They accept credit card payments like
all other websites but when their
customers win a bet, then the website
should credit their winnings to them.
This cannot be done using through the
credit card. The simplest alternative
is: send a check to the customer for an
amount that he has won. However, that
can cause problems.
Firstly, the betting
websites do not get domestic merchant
accounts due to the law in their
country. Therefore, they should use the
offshore merchant account. The betting
websites are under the category of
“online gambling”. Therefore, the
American banks will not give them a
merchant account. Furthermore, the
winnings will be sent to the customer by
check. The law in U.S. prevents banks
from clearing those checks and if they
are tracked by the DOJ, then the banks
will have to pay hefty fines.
The answer to this
situation is: find a bank which is not
aware of your type of business you are
doing or is aware of it and ready to
take on the risk. A site which is
popular will have to issue several
hundred checks each month, particularly
of events like the finals of NBA.
Therefore, the risk is not meagre.
The betting websites need
payment processors who also distribute
the winnings, apart from accepting
deposits. Also, using the major credit
cards like MasterCard and Visa is
becoming very difficult due to the law.
Therefore, there are many payment
processors who have emerged to take the
risk. The problem is: who can be
trusted? Most of the processors in this
line of business are fake and vanish
with the customer’s money once they are
credited to their account. There are
some good ones, however, they will
continue the payment processing business
only till they are caught which can
happen at any time and with out any
future notice. When it happens then all
the money is lost.
Therefore, it is very
hard to find a payment processor for the
betting website. The betting website
also has to find a bank which is willing
to take the high risk. If you are not
able to find a bank then your payment
processor has to do it for you.
Some of the popular and
trustworthy payment processors are “JBL”
and “Zippayments.com” which process
credit card payments for the betting
business. However, the laws and the
industry will change very quickly and
expose you to a lot of risk. Contact
one of our helpful account
representatives to assist you in the
setup of
a
high risk merchant account or
offshore merchant account for a
high risk merchant. |