AMEX, Citigroup Block Online Gambling Payments in U.K.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2004 - 9:25am.

London -- Citing concerns over fraud and high consumer debts, credit card providers American Express and Citigroup have taken steps to prevent U.K. cardholders from using their cards to open accounts at online casinos, the Financial Times reported. Both card companies and their rivals have blocked U.S. cardholders from using their cards to gamble on overseas online sites, as online gambling is illegal in the U.S. "We implemented this rule in the U.S. two years ago but did not have the right systems to do it in the U.K. until last month," a Citigroup spokesperson told FT. The U.K. is currently examining whether it should update its laws regarding gambling, in part to account for new technologies such as the Internet.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/aa0d44dc-1f0f-11d9-9015-00000e2511c8.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/18/gambling_block