One thing there is absolutely no shortage of on the net is opportunities to gamble. We have been spoilt for choice, whether your fancy is for betting on sports, playing virtual card games or bingo. One of the items that makes internet gambling so potentially dangerous is that it’s easily available for 24 hours a day casino online.
The real danger comes once you combine this factor with the fact that it is very easy to feel detached from the truth of money spent online. Gradually accumulating a debt online does not feel the same as handing over hard earned cash from our wallet, so it’s that much easier to reduce track of how your online spending is mounting up.
For these reasons, debt problems from internet gambling are on the increase. In this post I hope to clarify a few of the legal issues around online gambling, as well as providing some advice on dealing with the underlying problem and the debts that result from it.
Legal Issues Around Gambling Debts
When we talk about debt from online gambling it is important to be clear about the nature of your debt, because who the money is owed to does change lives. People are often unsure about the legality of debts from online gambling. In the UK it is possible to gamble legally on credit and incur a debt, but this debt is not then enforceable through the law.
However, there is an important point to make here, which is that this only applies while you are using credit extended by the business offering the gambling (casino, bookie, etc). If you use a credit card company to pay for internet gambling, that is clearly a legally enforceable debt the same as it would be in any other circumstance, as you have borrowed money from the credit card company, not the casino. It really is now against the law in the US to use a credit card to cover online gambling.
You will find that lots of bank cards will regard a payment to an internet gambling website as a cash advance. That is then clearly borrowing money from the card company and the debt you incur could be pursued through legal action. Should you choose use a credit card to pay for online gambling this way, you should be aware that cash advances on bank cards are nearly always charged at a higher interest than normal credit for purchases.
HOW TO APPROACH Debts Caused By Gambling
In dealing with gambling debts, there are two separate issues to tackle. One may be the debt itself, and another may be the habit of gambling that resulted in the debt. Even if your debt is dealt with, chances are to develop again if the primary cause is not tackled too. Why don’t we first consider the issue of paying off the debt.
The principles for tackling debt are often the same, irrespective of the causes of the debt. To permanently cope with debt you should not be turning over borrowing more money or paying anyone to cope with your debt for you. These courses of action will probably deepen your debt in the long term.
With a little advice, you can deal with your debts yourself, by contacting your creditors and agreeing terms for repayment that one could afford. There is clearly more to it than that, nonetheless it is beyond the scope of the particular article. The process is straightforward and allows you to get back control of your finances.