Major Credit Cards Make Online Poker Move

When UIGEA was introduced in meant that major credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard had certain restrictions placed upon them meaning that should your transaction into your online poker room attempt to go via a US bank then it was most likely blocked. It's worth noting right now that the player trying to deposit is not at fault or in the wrong and that due to UIGEA US banks were fined for dealing with this type of transaction. In many cases this was not a problem and other banks were used to process the transaction and any online poker player will tell you that Visa and MasterCard are widely used in online poker. However, due to the changing market in the US and the regulation of online gaming in three states, and the almost inevitable fact that many more will follow, there are changes ahead of which the upshot will be that it could probably become even easier for you to deposit using your Visa or MasterCard.

MasterCard Transactions to Online Poker Rooms

When making any transaction with your credit card the bank that is to process the funds are given a four digit code which tells them the basics of what the transaction is for. For the last few years the Merchant Category Code 7995 has meant that the transaction may be to an online poker room or casino and although US banks may reject that payment, other banks would not have to as there are no restrictions on them. Now however, MasterCard have added new codes for online gambling and have widened the use of codes with two notable ones being MCC 9754 for horse racing transactions and MCC 9399 for lotteries transactions. The Nevada regulated online poker site of Ultimate Poker now accepts MasterCard with that code thought to be MCC 9754. This means that for MasterCard users there are more codes being used and it gives your card a better chance of being approved in the regular way.

Visa Approvals on the Up?

Visa uses the same codes and although the exact workings of how the new system may function is not known, it is known that a code is given, and should that code from that merchant, after having gone through the approval process's be given the green light, then further transactions from the same merchant are also approved. Whilst in Visas case this does not signal that all systems are go and every single Visa transaction will fly through, it does mean that there will be a higher approval rate. It is also not known how Visa may differentiate between regulated US sites and others, and if there will in fact be any separate guidelines. There are still questions to be answered and only time will tell, but to all intents and purposes things are looking better when using Visa to deposit into you online poker room of choice.