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Non-Tech : Starnet (SNMM)Online gaming, sexsites, lottery, Sportsbook -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: trendy who wrote (3731)	7/22/1999 3:01:00 PM
From: Burgoo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8858

Let's assume you/they are right. I still feel that consumers refusing to pay could pose a problem... Net gambler sues credit firms A net gambler, who gambled away $70,000 on the Internet over the course of 18 months, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of California in Marin County last week against Visa and MasterCard claiming the companies shouldn't have let the cyber casinos take her money. Visa and MasterCard provided the merchant accounts, and every time the casinos make a transaction they pay a 2 percent to 5 percent fee to the credit companies. Because it is illegal to offer or play casino games in which the gamblers play against the house in California, Cynthia Haines's lawyers allege that the bets she placed are illegal in California, and therefore it was wrong for Visa, MasterCard, and other credit card companies to authorise the charges she made at more than 50 online wager houses, which were based overseas. Haines was sued by Providian National Bank, which issued her credit cards, for the debt she incurred while rolling the dice online. Her lawyers filed a cross-complaint against the major credit card companies claiming they are engaging in unfair business practices by "profit-taking from illegal gambling on the Internet." "Visa and MasterCard are both actively involved in e-commerce and knew or should have known of the numerous online casinos using their credit cards for illegal gambling transactions," the complaint states. "Providian cannot collect on a debt arising out of an illegal gambling transaction as being against the public policy of California." Net legal experts had mixed reactions to the lawsuit. All agreed that despite the merits of the case, a boost in similar lawsuits could deter credit card companies from issuing merchant accounts to online betting operations.