Net gambling faces crucial test

The Internet gambling industry is under fire after a Californian woman filed a lawsuit which could make it impossible to collect the $60m racked up every year in online wagers.

Cynthia Haines is counter-suing a number of online gaming companies, her bank and her credit card companies - Visa and MasterCard - after she was taken to court for $70,000 in unpaid gambling debts.

The grounds of her case are that as online gaming is illegal in the US, the transactions between these organisations and Ms Haines were also illegal, and therefore her debts unenforceable.

Her lawyer alleges that the credit card companies had granted online gaming houses merchant accounts and allowed them to display their logos when they knew or could easily find out that their customers would be making illegal transactions.

Pundits are viewing this as a test case for the viability of online gambling. They argue that if gaming sites cannot use credit card transactions, then they will not be able to make enough money to survive. It comes on the back of a US Senatorial Bill to ban Internet gambling.

In the UK, organisations are pushing for a more ethical practice of gambling, online or otherwise.

GamCare - a UK registered charity that dedicates itself to the promotion of responsible gambling - says it is seriously worried about the effects of high frequency interactive gambling which encourages players to chase their losses.

Paul Bellringer, director at Gamcare, said: "People who operate online gaming services should be made accountable within the territory that they operate. They must recognise that gaming can cause problems."