Nearly
all online poker sites accept payments and deposits from all major
credit cards, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to use your
MasterCard on all US poker sites.
Since the adoption of UIGEA and subsequent law enforcement action based
on its regulations, many credit card processors are wary of processing
payments made via U.S. based MasterCard accounts. The ability to process
your MasterCard payment varies among the many US poker sites, and often
depends upon which bank issued your MasterCard. In general, if your
MasterCard is accepted internationally, it will probably be accepted at
most US player poker sites.
The Problem with MasterCard and US Player Poker Rooms
MasterCard
is accepted in more than 200 countries and processes more than a
trillion dollars’ worth of purchases and monetary transactions every
year. Any poker room that accepts credit card payments will accept
MasterCard payments. The problem lies with the bank at the other end.
Some banks will process gambling transactions. Others will not process
transactions that have a high rate of chargebacks or that are illegal in
their state of incorporation.
For
4 years after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement
Act of 2006, most US banks continued to process payments to US poker
sites. In June 2010, though, U.S. law enforcement took action against a
number of US poker sites and the banks sat up and took notice. Since
then, it has become more and more difficult for US players to find US
player poker sites that can process their MasterCard payments. That
said, there are a number of US player poker rooms that have a high rate
of success in processing MasterCard payments for US players.
What to Do If Your MasterCard is Declined by US Poker Sites
If
your MasterCard deposit is declined, don’t panic. While many players
have no problems making deposits to their accounts via MasterCard,
payments are declined often enough that US player poker sites offer many
other options for US players to fund their accounts, generally through
third-party payment processors like eWallet and MoneyBookers. Third
party payment accounts offer an additional perk for US players who
sometimes wait weeks to receive a payout check for their winnings in US
poker sites: many US poker player sites allow you to withdraw your
winnings to your eWallet account where you can access it much sooner.
If you continue to have trouble funding your account at U.S. poker sites, there is one more option available to you: call or contact customer service at the poker room. CS at most US player poker rooms are friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. They’ll get you up and running and ready to play in no time.