Anyone Call the Bank About Declined Transactions?

[SeattleSinner]

I am curious to know if anyone has ever called their bank after a declined online gaming transaction and demanded the charge be let through. I once tried this but when they transferred me to the department I got scared and hung up. Afterall online gambling is illegal in the US. But has anyone ever actually asked the bank to let the charge go? If so what happend?

 

[Westland Bowl]

.....Afterall online gambling is illegal in the US.....

I've yet to hear of a private US citizen being arrested for online gambling in the privacy of his/her own home.

What is illegal in US is for banks and bank credit cards to accept online casino charges.

 

[bb28]

As Westland said it is the banks and CC companies that can get into trouble more so than a private citizen. So........it wouldn't be a good idea to phone your bank and ask them to complete "an illegal transaction". I'd guess most of them would decide in about 2 minutes to close your account and tell you to not let the door hit you in the as* when you leave.

 

[winbig]

I've yet to hear of a private US citizen being arrested for online gambling in the privacy of his/her own home.

What is illegal in US is for banks and bank credit cards to accept online casino charges.

I'd lay 2000:1 that if someone in Washington state were to phone their bank about an online gambling transaction, they'd be arrested in no time.

 

[GrandMaster]

I've yet to hear of a private US citizen being arrested for online gambling in the privacy of his/her own home.

What is illegal in US is for banks and bank credit cards to accept online casino charges.

What is illegal is for financial institutions to process payments related to illegal online gambling. Unless there is state or local law prohibiting you from gambling, it is legal for you to play at online casinos and it is also legal for banks to process the transactions.

 

[pacers31]

Please explain that one Grandmaster. This whole ban thing has everyone confused to some degree. I play here without problems, but I sometimes wonder what's coming.

 

[Mousey]

To me, the worst problem is that the UIGEA does not define what is legal and what is illegal. Also, the DoJ and

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) choose to believe that all online gambling is illegal for US players and treat it as such. Therefore, until someone either clarifies the UIGEA or corrects/informs the powers that be (by seeing this through a court of law or change legislation) we are still operating in very murky waters. It means the DoJ and FBI can do as they damn well please, prosecute (or threaten) whomever they please, how and whenever they please.

There are some states where online gambling is specifically legislated as illegal and (Washington comes first to mind is a felony). Yeah, let's put them bad ol' gamblers in jail along with drug dealers and child molesters .

I'm sorry, this is becoming another of my rants. I apologize. The stupidity of our government and criminal divisions' stance regarding this whole 'all online gambling is illegal' just gripes my a$$...

 

[silcnlayc]

Declined...

During my short spells of playing after the banning of USA, I got a call from my bank asking if I was the one that instigated the transactions that were trying to go through my account.

I told them yes and they questioned each one and I told them it was none of their business and if they decline any of these transactions, ( I already used during my play) I would take my accounts elsewhere including many of my friends...

They were not very happy with this so they allowed the few that I did transact to go through and after that none of my cards would work at any casino.

Ahh well....till the day some of our officials grow some brass ones and their brains put in the right parts of their bodies...I will just be a spectator from now on..

 

[winbig]

Not that much off topic, but:

Bank of America is horrible when it comes to placing blocks on cards - online and off. When trying to use my debit card at an ATM in a B&M casino, they BLOCKED MY CARD. I had to call a total 4 times during a 30 minute period before my card was unblocked. They considered this ATM withdrawal "unusual activity."

2 days prior to this, they blocked my card because they again noticed "unusual activity," which consisted of my making a $1200 purchase of computer parts at Newegg.com.

What gets me is the fact that a week prior to all of this, I used the card some 2,000+ miles away from home without any problems at all...go figure.

 

[buzzweisergrl]

I bank at Bank of America also. When I used to gamble online they would let 30-40 transactions go through and then they would put a hold on my card. I to would have to call and go through the fraud department. But I can go to the mall and use it like mad and no one ever says anything. This whole online gambling is bull**it. Hope it gets figured out soon.

 

[aodat2]

Technically depositing money at an online casino is not an illegal thing.

Why do I say so? Simple, coz technically you didn't gamble online. You just put money in there. Now, I don't really remember the law correctly but if I'm not mistaken they say it's Illegal To Gamble Online which you did not do. You merely parked your money there.

So, technically you have not committed a crime yet. It's like you wanting to steal something from a store. Even if I put the thing in my pocket and etc, as long as I didn't walk out of the store and I'm within the grounds of the store, I'm still not a criminal. Unless of coz I step even a foot out of the store, then I can be considered a criminal.

In truth, if you call up your bank to ask for the charge to put through they can only tell you that they could not allow the charge to go through because of this and that. That's all they could do to you. Even if they report this to the DoJ or Feds or etc, they could not convict you of anything because the bank has already denied your request and thus you did not gamble online.

In the same view if your bank did allow the charge to go through, they will be in trouble more than you if/when the DoJ or Feds are involved. They know that allowing online gaming transactions is a grey area (or might even be illegal) and they allowed it to go through. So if they actually allowed it to go through and they call the Feds/DoJ on you, they will be roasting themselves instead of just getting you in trouble.

Ps. winbig, I would like to take you up on your odds of 2000:1 with $10. I doubt anyone will even get in trouble for doing this.

 

[bryand]

mush?

Maybe my good friend mush will summarize this site for the rest of us mere laymen:

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[winbig]

Ok, maybe you wouldn't be arrested simply for asking the bank about a gambling transaction, but what's to say that banks won't report suspected online gambling activity?

If reported, the state feds will do an investigation, in which I'm sure they'll confiscate your computer (it's been done:

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) and prove that you're gambling online.

It'd be interesting to find out if banks in WA (and other states where it's illegal to gamble online) are obligated to report suspected gambling activity....anyone know?

If so, then yes, you could be arrested (indirectly) by inquiring about a declined gambling transaction in a state that has a law against gambling online.

 

[peteyweestro]

as far as i know it's only illegal to move money into or out of an online casino, the actual playing isn't illegal unless it's sportswagering but then that wouldn't be a casino it would be a sportsbook

 

[RobWin]

This whole UIGEA Law has become so convoluted now with everyones interpretation no one knows any more for sure...but I do know for a fact that the way it is written it IS NOT ILLEGAL for you as an individual to gamble online unless you live in one of the 11 states that say it is...what the UIGEA Law states is that it is no longer legal for Banks and Financial Institutes to process gambling transactions...it says nothing about the individual himself or herself to gamble online...