Press of Atlantic City – Raising the standards for companies processing Internet gambling payments could encourage banks and major credit card companies to accept more deposits, adding millions to the state’s fledgling industry, one executive told Trenton lawmakers Monday.
Testifying in favor of a bill that would encourage foreign Internet gambling companies to set up operations in New Jersey, Chris Thom, chairman of Secure Trading Inc., told a state Senate committee that a critical component of the legislation would require Internet gaming payment processors to go through New Jersey’s stringent licensure process. Currently, state law requires the processors, which act as middle men between gamblers and online casinos, endure a less rigorous certification process.
Thom said the most “egregious” issues with illegal Internet gambling payments have developed as payment processors have camouflaged gambling transactions under other codes. That practice has made credit card companies wary of approving the transactions even in states where the activity is legal. Visa, for example, is approving just 10 to 15 percent of Internet gambling transactions, including lottery and horse-racing wagers, Thom said.
William J. Pascrell III, a New Jersey lobbyist, told the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee that the legislation has the ability to take New Jersey’s roll-out from “pedestrian to the next level.”
