When you sign up online using USA casinos, sportsbooks, or poker rooms, you can enjoy safe, legal real-money betting from the comfort of your own home. However, that only works if you’re going to be able to get money into and out of your account reliably, easily, and quickly. Fortunately, the best sites in the business all offer several US-friendly online gambling banking options.

• Online Gambling Banking Regulations Malta
• Online Gambling Banking Regulations No Deposit
• Online Gambling Banking Regulations Kenya
• Online Gambling Banking Regulations For Real

Because the State has no legal means of Online Gambling specifically permitted, any form of online gambling is illegal. RANK: Patently Illegal. New Jersey is one of the few states to have fully legal online casinos which fall under the Licensing and Regulation of the State. While any gambling activity not specifically authorized. Now, the odds of gambling online are again changing. If the regulations take hold, online gamblers will not be able to use credit cards or debit cards issued by U.S. Money transfers also will be blocked. Though the regulations took effect Monday, banks have until Dec. 1 to figure out how to comply with them.

The first step, of course, is to make sure that the site you choose offers gambling deposit options that work for your needs. Then, it’s simply a matter of funding your gambling account, playing your favorite games and betting on your favorite sports, and withdrawing your winnings.

Gambling payment methods run the gamut, from traditional credit and debit options to bulletproof Bitcoin transactions and even old-school bank wires, money orders, and cashier’s checks. No matter how you manage you bankroll, our brief guide will help you do it safely and efficiently.

US Betting Sites With The Best Online Gambling Payouts

Online Gambling Deposit Options For US Players

After you choose a top offshore online casino that caters to US players, the next step is to check our online gambling reviews page to see what funding options are available. Fortunately, all the operators we recommend are low deposit gambling sites, which means it doesn’t take more than about $20 dollars to get started.

Online Gambling Banking Regulations Malta

Because membership is free and such a minor investment is required to begin winning real money, you can join several sites without spending an arm and a leg, allowing you to see which suite of casino games, sports betting options, and online poker action suits you best.

Credit Card and Debit Card Deposits

You can use credit cards and debit cards to make deposits at any reputable betting site operating outside of US jurisdiction. However, these transfers might be slowed by the UIGEA law, making them less than ideal despite their immediate transaction times. The main cards accepted are:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• American Express

While you are unlikely to experience a hold or rejection very often, US gambling sites that accept Visa, Mastercard gambling sites, and gambling sites that accept American Express are susceptible to transaction interference about three percent of the time. As long as your transfer isn’t blocked or suspended, these options are fast and convenient.

• Fees: 3-9%
• Deposit limits: Up to $3000
• Transfer times: Instant

Cryptocurrency Deposits

Crypto deposits are our favorite and most recommended method of moving funds into and out of real money gambling sites. All of the best online casinos, top online sportsbooks, and highest-volume online poker sites accept Bitcoin as a matter of course, and a few also accept a limited selection of altcoins, including the following:

• Bitcoin
• Litecoin
• Ethereum
• Ripple
• Bitcoin Cash
• DASH
• OX (ZRX)
• +More

There are numerous advantages to using cryptocurrencies for all your USA online gambling needs, and these are discussed in the Bitcoin section below.

• Fees: None
• Deposit limits: Up to $10,000
• Transfer times: Instant

Prepaid Deposits

You can use prepaid cards (i.e. secured credit cards and gift cards) to deposit into overseas casinos and other betting sites, and these bypass the UIGEA because the money is already credited to your card of choice. The top prepaid options supported by the best Internet gambling venues include:

• Prepaid Visa
• Prepaid Mastercard
• Prepaid American Express
• Prepaid International Gift Cards

America-facing gambling sites that accept Visa gift cards are the most common, as Visa tends to dominate the prepaid market. When using a prepaid Visa for online gambling (or a virtual visa card for gambling), you need to make certain that it – or any brand of gift card – is suitable for international purchases. Many gift cards are limited to US-based transactions, which won’t work to move money into your online betting wallet.

• Fees: Varies
• Deposit limits: Set by bank/available funds
• Transfer times: Instant

Bank Transfer Deposits

Bank transfers include all the traditional ways to move money to and fro, including the following options:

• Bank Wires
• eChecks
• Cashier’s Checks

Wire transfers are accepted by many of the top gambling sites, though these take longer to process (5-10 days). Bank wires have the highest deposit limits this side of Bitcoin, and many old-school high rollers prefer this method.

In terms of support, eChecks are less commonly accepted, but cashier’s checks remain a universal option. These latter methods have turnover times of about 3-5 days on average.

• Fees: Flat fee or percentage, varies
• Deposit limits: $10,000 to unlimited
• Transfer times: 3-10 days

Money Order Deposits

Money orders are commonly used, allowing US players to send large quantities of money to their overseas gambling sites of choice. Money orders come with reasonably high fees, but they also have fairly robust deposit limits to mitigate that.

• Fees: Varies by service provider
• Deposit limits: Up to $9000
• Transfer times: 2-3 days

Person-To-Person Money Transfer Deposits

Person-to-Person deposits, or P2P deposits, utilize third-party money transfer services. There are several big box brands that offer P2P transfers for international use, though these all carry not-insignificant fees (which are sometimes waived) and usually take several days to complete.

• Fees: Varies by service provider
• Deposit limits: Up to $1000
• Transfer times: 2-3 days

Fastest USA Online Gambling Payout Options

Whichever method of payout you select from your site’s cashier, you will be faced with a gambling withdrawal timeline that varies from option to option.

For avid bettors and gambling enthusiasts, this is one of the chief considerations when collecting winnings. After all, most players want their money ASAP, though there are some players who don’t mind waiting.

Fortunately, at the best US online gambling sites, there are options for everyone. And if you have any gambling withdrawal problems at all, customer service is there to answer your questions and make you whole, 24/7. The following list includes the most popular ways to claim your online gambling payouts.

Bitcoin Withdrawals

As with deposits, BTC is our preferred payout method. You can also withdraw using any other supported altcoin (Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, etc.). Please keep in mind that in order to withdraw in a given cryptocurrency, you must first deposit using the same cryptocurrency.

• Fees: None
• Withdrawal limits: Up to $20,000
• Transfer times: Same day (2-4 hours)

Bank Wire Withdrawals

Bank wire payouts are the preferred choice for those high rollers that use this method to deposit into their accounts. Bank wires come with hefty fees when requesting payouts, but they usually pale in comparison to the amounts actually being withdrawn.

• Fees: Flat fee or percentage, varies
• Withdrawal limits: Up to $20,000
• Transfer times: 5-10 days

Courier Check Withdrawals

Courier checks are one of the most common ways to withdraw, and for those using any deposit method other than Bitcoin, courier checks are the gold standard. Most top betting sites will allow customers one free check payout per 30-90 days, so be sure to take advantage of this to avoid any fees.

• Fees: Varies
• Withdrawal limits: Up to $3000
• Transfer times: 2-5 days

Person-To-Person Withdrawals

Person-to-person services can be used to handle payouts from international gaming operators, but the amounts that you’re able to pull out are fairly meager compared to other methods. P2P transfers also have fees attached, though some sites will waive these for amounts over a certain threshold.

• Fees: Varies by service provider
• Withdrawal limits: Up to $500
• Transfer times: 2-3 days

Bitcoin Gambling In The US

For USA gambling sites, instant withdrawal has often been a challenge. In the early days of the industry, pesky laws like the UIGEA made it difficult for players to receive their winnings in a timely manner.

However, with the advent of Bitcoin (BTC), the UIGEA law – and most other forms of payment – have been obviated. Naturally, not everyone uses BTC, but Bitcoin gambling sites – that is, sites that support cryptocurrency banking – are now the norm.

If you’re just getting started with online gambling, Bitcoin is the financial platform we recommend above all others.

Benefits of Bitcoin

• Immediate deposits with 100% success rate
• Biggest casino and sportsbook bonuses
• Low minimum and high maximum transfer limits
• No added transfer fees for deposits or withdrawals
• Secure blockchain technology is quantum-hacking resistant
• Increased user anonymity and privacy
• Only same-day payout method at all US online gambling sites

In addition to Bitcoin, most online US legal sportsbooks, casinos, and poker rooms also accept other cryptocurrencies. These come with the same perks as BTC, but some users prefer altcoins.

Thus, if you’re looking for Litecoin gambling sites, Ethereum gambling sites, Ripple gambling sites, or Bitcoin Cash gambling sites, you’ll find them on this page. Just remember: To get the above benefits of crypto – including same-day withdrawals with no added fees – you’ll first have to deposit using the alternative currency.

How Does Zelle Work For Online Gambling?

Bitcoin gambling casinos are the best in the industry. However, you can’t enjoy the benefits of crypto if you don’t have any to spend, and buying BTC can be a major hassle at the most prominent exchanges. At Coinbase, for example, Bitcoin often takes 10 days to be credited to your account after you purchase it!

While US casino players may not mind the wait, if you’re looking to bet on tonight’s game or join this weekend’s six-figure online poker tournament, it’s a non-starter.

Fortunately, you can use Zelle to purchase Bitcoin in just minutes instead of days. If you have a US bank account, chances are you already have access to Zelle, as this instant-pay product is supported by most American financial institutions.

Using Zelle, you can send money straight from your bank account to a private BTC seller via Localbitcoins.com, and you’ll have your Bitcoin in about half an hour. Then, you can deposit at your legal online casinos, sportsbooks, or poker rooms of choice using BTC, taking advantage of all the perks that the best Bitcoin gambling sites have to offer.

Gambling Deposit Bonus Options

The best gambling sign-up bonuses are available when you use Bitcoin, but no matter how you choose to deposit into your betting account, you can get valuable bankroll boosts.

These are often market specific, however, so the bonus you choose should be aligned with the kind of gaming in which you plan to most frequently participate. You may prefer a sportsbook bonus, a casino gambling promotion, or an online poker bonus. These each have different terms and conditions, which are very basically outlined below.

In most cases, you won’t even need to enter online gambling promo codes, as these perks are offered as soon as you deposit. Accepting a bonus is totally optional, and it’s as easy as clicking or tapping on the offer you like. And remember, depositing with Bitcoin will almost always give you higher bonus limits.

• Online Casino Bonus – Casino promotions are deposit match bonuses that boost your account by a given percentage of your deposit. These can be welcome bonuses or reload bonuses, and they work the same way. Often, you’ll be able to match your deposit by 100%, adding up to several thousand dollars to your account. Casino bonuses come with rollover requirements of between 20-40X, so please check your site’s terms and conditions.

Note: Some sites occasionally offer free online gambling bonus options, though these are usually seasonal and come with higher rollover limits than typical casino bonuses.

• Online Sportsbook Bonus – Sports betting bonuses work the same way as casino bonuses, but they are restricted only to accruing rollover when you wager on sports. In other words, you can’t meet the terms of a sportsbook promo by playing in your site’s casino section.

Sports betting rollover is lower than casino rollover, as well. Usually, the best sportsbook bonuses have 5-10X rollover requirements.

• Online Poker Bonus – Poker bonuses are the best online gambling bonus offers going. This is because they have no rollover or playthrough requirements of any kind!

Instead, you usually have a time limit of 30 days or so, during which you can unlock the bonus in small increments as you play poker hands and enter various online poker tournaments. Most poker bonus cash is disbursed in increments of $5 to $10.

• Online Racebook Bonus – Some sites allow sportsbook bonuses to apply to horse racing betting, while others do not. However, all legal US online racebooks have horse racing rebates that refund 3-9% of all your horse bets, whether you win or lose. Different races have different refunds attached, so please check the terms and conditions of each event.

Online Gambling Payment Methods For International Players

Online gambling payment processing is actually easier for most international players. This is true for both deposits and withdrawals, as there are no equivalent laws to America’s meddlesome UIGEA in most countries.

In addition to all the options listed above (with the exception of Zelle, which is US only!), you’ll have access to the following banking services:

• PayPal
• Neteller
• Skrill
• Paysafecard
• Credit card chargebacks
• ACH transfers

Deposits for international gamblers take about as long to process as they do for US players. PayPal, Neteller, and Skrill all transfer immediately, but otherwise, wait times will be in the several-day range.

Betting withdrawal times are similarly lengthy for anything but Bitcoin/crypto payouts. If you claim your winnings via PayPal, Neteller, or Skrill, you can expect a 2-3 day wait. Card chargebacks take a similar amount of time, and ACH transfers can take up to a week or more.

FAQs

Can my bank block gambling sites?

Yes! In fact, this is what the UIGEA law purports to do, though it does so on an unreliable, automated basis. If you use credit or debit cards to deposit into your betting account, the transfer might be flagged by the UIGEA’s systems in about 2-3 percent of cases.

If this happens, don’t worry – your card has not been cancelled or suspended. You can wait a few minutes and try again, choose a different card, or try a different payment option.

Bitcoin is ideal because no online gambling payment processors (i.e. banks) are involved in the private transaction, giving it a 100% success rate.

Will I see gambling transactions on my bank statement?

Yes. When you use a regulated form of currency to deposit into your online gambling account or make withdrawals via the same, these will show up on your bank statement.

Online casinos, sportsbooks, and US legal online poker sites may not explicitly include “gambling” or “betting” on these statements, but they will have some identifying characteristics for those who know what to look for.

If you wish to avoid this, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin should be used for all online gambling transactions.

Can I block my bank card from gambling sites?

Yes, you can. To do this, you will have to contact your card issuer and instruct them on which service providers to blacklist. However, it is much, much easier to simply block access to these sites on your phone, tablet, or computer.

That said, for those suffering from gambling addiction, having your credit/debit card company block casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms is the way to go.

Can I withdraw bonus bet winnings?

Yes, you can. That said, you must first meet the terms of your bonus before you’ll be eligible to receive any payouts. Bonus rollover is easy to understand, and as long as you do, you should have no problems whatsoever.

Can you withdraw free bet winnings?

Free bets are different than bonuses. Online gambling sites with no-deposit bonuses give players “free chips” with which to try out their games, usually worth between $25-50.

However, these come with much higher rollover requirements (100X or so), and you must meet all playthrough terms to withdraw any associated winnings.

What is the best Bitcoin wallet for gambling?

There really isn’t one. Most reputable BTC wallets – like Electrum, Guarda, Exodus, Bread Wallet, SoFi, and so on – are web or software based, allowing you to transfer Bitcoin quickly. Hardware wallets, like Ledger, are more secure, but they are more difficult to use for immediate transactions, as they require extra steps.

What is the easiest betting site to withdraw money?

All of the sites featured on this page make withdrawing your winnings from your online gambling fund quick and easy. Bitcoin is the best, fastest method, and every reputable operator supports BTC. However, even transactions that take longer – like courier checks and money orders – are just as simple to initiate.

What is a bet payout calculator?

Long ago, online gamblers would use gambling payout calculators and betting bankroll calculators to see how much money they could withdraw and how much cash they stood to win on any given wager.

Today, the top sites all have these functions built into their portals, so you don’t need any separate standalone apps or programs to assist you. Just check your bankroll and betting slips, and all this information is at your fingertips.

What is gambling withdrawal?

Gambling withdrawal is a serious condition that can plague users who are suffering from gambling addiction. Withdrawal makes betting a hard habit to kick, and if you feel like gambling is no longer entertaining and is an actual compulsion, you should seek immediate help from the National Council on Problem Gambling or an advocacy group like 1-800-GAMBLER.

Compliance Guide to Small Entities

Regulation GG: Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling

Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling--A Small Entity Compliance Guide¹
What does the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act require?
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 ('UIGEA') prohibits any person, including a business, engaged in the business of betting or wagering from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling.² Such transactions are termed 'restricted transactions.' UIGEA requires the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (collectively, the 'Agencies'), in consultation with the U.S. Department of Justice, to designate payment systems that could be used in connection with or to facilitate restricted transactions. Such a designation makes the payment system, and financial transaction providers participating in the system, subject to the requirements of the rule.

UIGEA also requires the Agencies, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Justice, to issue a rule requiring designated payment systems and financial transaction providers participating in each designated payment system to establish policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and block, or otherwise prevent or prohibit, restricted transactions. The rule must identify types of policies and procedures that would be deemed to be reasonably designed to achieve this objective, including non-exclusive examples. UIGEA also requires the Agencies to exempt certain restricted transactions or designated payment systems from any requirement imposed by the rule if the Agencies jointly determine that it is not reasonably practical to identify and block, or otherwise prevent or prohibit the acceptance of, such transactions.

The rule implements these requirements.³

Is your business subject to the rule?
As required by UIGEA, the rule designates five payment systems that could be used to facilitate payments in connection with unlawful Internet gambling.⁴ The rule also exempts many participants in transactions in those payment systems.⁵ If, however, your business performs one of the following functions, your business is covered by the rule and should comply with the rule's requirements:

• The operator (i.e., the entity that provides centralized clearing and delivery services between participants and maintains the operational framework for the system)⁶of a money transmitting business that
  • Engages in the transmission of funds (not including check cashing, currency exchange, or the issuance or redemption of money orders); and
  • Permits customers to initiate transmission of funds transactions remotely from a location other than the physical office of the money transmitting business.⁷
• The depositary bank in a check transaction.
• The beneficiary's bank in a wire transfer.
• The receiving depository financial institution (RDFI) in an ACH credit transaction, the originating depository financial institution (ODFI) in an ACH debit transaction, the gateway operator for a cross-border ACH debit transaction, and a third-party processor for any of these.⁸
• The system operator, merchant acquirer, third-party processor, or card issuer in a card system (including credit cards, debit cards, pre-paid cards, and stored value cards).

Online Gambling Banking Regulations No Deposit

If your business is covered by the rule, what is required?
You must establish and implement written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to identify and block or otherwise prevent or prohibit payments related to unlawful Internet gambling that are restricted by UIGEA and are processed through your facilities.

Section 6 of the rule provides examples of policies and procedures for each designated payment system that would comply with the rule because they are reasonably designed to prevent restricted transactions. The examples are non-exclusive. You are permitted to design and implement policies and procedures tailored to your business that may be different than the examples provided in section 6. In addition, you may use different policies and procedures with respect to different business lines or different parts of your business.

The examples of policies and procedures for designated payment systems other than card systems focus primarily on a due diligence process when establishing a commercial customer relationship. For purposes of the rule, a 'commercial customer' is a customer that is not a natural person (i.e., a customer that is a business such as a corporation or partnership). This would be the core policy and procedure to prevent or prohibit restricted transactions. You could conduct due diligence in account-opening procedures designed to ensure that the commercial customer does not originate or receive restricted transactions through the customer relationship. The examples focus on your business relationship with commercial customers only and do not contemplate that a participant would take any particular action regarding individual consumer accounts.

In addition to due diligence at account opening, the examples in section 6 suggest that you communicate to your commercial customers that restricted transactions are prohibited. You could notify all of your commercial customers that restricted transactions are prohibited, by adding a term in the commercial customer agreement, by sending a simple notice to your commercial customers, or by some other method. In the examples in section 6, your procedures would also include procedures to be followed in case you have 'actual knowledge' (for example, if you receive information from government officials) that a commercial customer has received restricted transactions through your payment facilities. The procedures could cover, for example, the circumstances under which the commercial customer would not be allowed to initiate or receive further payment transactions through your payment facilities or the circumstances under which you would close the commercial customer's account.

If you are a depository institution that participates in ACH, check, and wire-transfer systems, you will be able to establish and implement the same due diligence policies and procedures for commercial customers across all three of those systems for purposes of the rule. You will not need to establish and implement separate policies and procedures for each of these designated payment systems.

Because the rule's due diligence examples only apply to commercial customers, if you have few or no commercial customer accounts, the rule is likely to present relatively minimal implementation burden for you.

What due diligence is sufficient for participants in designated payment systems other than card systems?
There may be several ways to meet the rule's requirement to have reasonably designed policies and procedures and section 6 of the rule suggests some possible choices. With respect to due diligence, the Agencies expect that you could use a flexible, risk-based approach in your due diligence procedures so that the level of due diligence you perform will match the level of risk posed by your commercial customer. Section 6(b) of the rule sets out specific procedures that you could follow to conduct adequate due diligence of your business's commercial customers in order to assess the risk they present of unlawful Internet gambling.

The most efficient way for you to implement the due diligence procedures may be to incorporate them into your existing account-opening procedures (such as those required of depository institutions under Federal banking agencies' Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance program requirements).⁹ Specifically, you should have a basic understanding of a new commercial customer's business, based on normal account-opening procedures. If, based on your initial due diligence, you determine that your prospective commercial customer presents only a minimal risk of engaging in an Internet gambling business, you do not need to take further action under the rule before opening the account.

If a commercial customer's description of its business or other factors cause you to suspect that the customer may present more than a minimal risk of engaging in an Internet gambling business (for example, the commercial customer offers games or contests over the Internet), you should ask for further documentation from the commercial customer. A certification from the commercial customer that it does not engage in an Internet gambling business would address factual questions regarding the commercial customer's business.

Alternatively, if the commercial customer engages in an Internet gambling business, the commercial customer should provide further documentation to show that the Internet gambling business is lawful, such as a license issued by a U.S. State or Tribal authority that authorizes the commercial customer to engage in an Internet gambling business. If you have questions regarding the permissibility of a commercial customer's activities, you should consult with (or have the commercial customer obtain confirmation from) the applicable licensing authority. If the commercial customer does not have an Internet gambling license, you should obtain from the commercial customer a reasoned legal opinion from the commercial customer's legal counsel that demonstrates that the commercial customer's Internet gambling business does not involve transactions that are prohibited by UIGEA. You may want to consult your own lawyer if this occurs.

In addition, the commercial customer should provide you with a third-party certification regarding the commercial customer's automated systems. Specifically, the certification should confirm that the customer's automated systems for engaging in the Internet gambling business are reasonably designed to ensure that the commercial customer's Internet gambling business will remain within the licensed or otherwise lawful limits, including with respect to gambler age and location verification. This is to ensure that the Internet gambling business will prohibit minors from accessing the gambling business and that the gambler is located in a state where the gambling activity is permitted by applicable law.

If you are a depository institution and have commercial customers that are money transmitting businesses or third-party processors, you should apply your due diligence procedures, as described above, to those entities.¹⁰ You are not responsible, however, for conducting due diligence on the customers of the money transmitting business or third-party processor. In turn, if you are the operator of a money transmitting business or third-party processor, you are responsible for establishing and implementing your own UIGEA policies and procedures with respect to your own commercial customers.

The due diligence approach suggested in section 6 and discussed above is one approach to complying with UIGEA's requirements for establishing reasonably designed policies and procedures. As noted above, you are permitted to design and implement policies and procedures tailored to your business that may be different than the examples provided in section 6, so long as they comply with the requirements of UIGEA and the rule.

What are reasonably designed procedures with respect to card systems?
Card systems (including credit cards, debit cards, pre-paid cards, and stored value cards) are the only designated payment systems that use a merchant and transaction coding framework that permits participants to identify and block, during processing, transactions with indicia of being restricted transactions. The Agencies expect that a coding system to identify and block restricted transactions will be the method of choice for the vast majority of card system participants to comply with the rule.¹¹

The rule's examples contemplate that the operator of a card system would establish and implement a code system, such as transaction codes and merchant/business category codes, that are required to accompany a transaction authorization and permit the card-issuing bank to identify and deny authorization for a transaction that the coding procedure indicates may be a restricted transaction (i.e., a gambling merchant/business code coupled with a 'card not present' transaction code).

UIGEA permits a participant in a designated payment system to comply with UIGEA's requirements by relying on and complying with the policies and procedures of the designated payment system if the system's policies and procedures comply with the requirements of the rule. The rule also states that if you are a participant in a designated payment system (such as a card system), you may rely on a written statement or notice by the operator of that designated payment system that states that the operator has designed or structured the system's policies and procedures for identifying and blocking or otherwise preventing or prohibiting restricted transactions to comply with the requirements of the rule as conclusive evidence that the system's policies and procedures comply with the requirements of the rule, unless otherwise notified by your Federal functional regulator (as listed below).

Accordingly, if you are a depository institution and participate in a card system, you should be able to rely on the policies and procedures established by the operator of the card system when developing your own compliance procedure. In determining those card transactions for which you will deny authorization, you could rely on (and comply with) the merchant and transaction coding of the card system to determine which transactions may be restricted transactions.

Again, you may design and implement policies and procedures tailored to your business that may be different than the examples provided in section 6.

Do you have any legal protection from liability for refusing to honor transactions that you suspect are restricted transactions?
UIGEA provides that, if you identify and block a transaction or otherwise refuse to honor a transaction, you will not be liable to any party for such action if

• The transaction is a restricted transaction;
• You reasonably believed the transaction to be a restricted transaction; or
• You blocked or otherwise prevented the transaction in reliance on the policies and procedures of the designated payment system in an effort to comply with the rule.

Does the rule mandate a change in the circumstances or procedures for submitting suspicious activity reports (SARs)?
No, nothing in the rule modifies any requirement imposed on you by other applicable law or regulation to file a SAR with the appropriate authorities.

Who should you contact if you have further questions?
The requirements of this rule will be exclusively enforced by your Federal functional regulator. For example, the National Credit Union Administration will be responsible for enforcing the rule with respect to federally insured credit unions, the Office of Thrift Supervision will be responsible with respect to federal thrifts, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency will be responsible with respect to national banks, the Federal Reserve Board will be responsible with respect to State member banks, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will be responsible with respect to State nonmember banks. The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission will be responsible for regulatory enforcement for their respective institutions that are non-exempt participants in designated payment systems. The Federal Trade Commission will be responsible for enforcement with respect to most non-exempt money transmitting businesses and other non-exempt participants not covered by the above regulators. Questions with respect to implementation of the rule should be addressed to your Federal functional regulator.

1. This guide was prepared by the staffs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Departmental Offices of the Department of the Treasury as a 'small entity compliance guide' under Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, as amended (5 U.S.C. § 601 note). The guide summarizes and explains the joint rule adopted by the Board and the Treasury, but is not a substitute for the rule itself. Only the rule itself can provide complete and definitive information regarding its requirements. Return to text

2. UIGEA is codified at 31 U.S.C. § 5361 et seq. Return to text

3. The rule implementing UIGEA was promulgated jointly by the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Identical sets of the rule are published in the Code of Federal Regulations by the Board of Governors at title 12, Part 233 (12 CFR Part 233) and by the Department of the Treasury at title 31, Part 132 (31 CFR 132). Return to text

4. 12 CFR 233.3 and 31 CFR 132.3. Return to text

5. 12 CFR 233.4 and 31 CFR 132.4. Return to text

6. This means that the 'send' agents of money transmitting businesses that receive funds for transmission and forward the payment instructions to the system operator are not subject to the rule. Return to text

7. This means that a money transmitting business is not subject to the rule if it only offers money transmitting services to customers that physically appear at an office of the money transmitting business to arrange and pay for the transfer of funds and it does not provide money transmitting services over the Internet or telephone. Return to text

8. With respect to the ACH system, the rule defines a 'third-party processor' as a service provider that (1) in the case of an ACH debit entry, has a direct relationship with the commercial customer that is initiating the debit entry and acts as an intermediary between the commercial customer and the first depository institution to handle the entry; (2) in the case of an ACH credit entry, has a direct relationship with the commercial customer that is to receive the proceeds of the credit entry and acts as an intermediary between the commercial customer and the last depository institution to handle the entry; and (3) in the case of a cross-border ACH debit entry, is the first service provider located within the United States to receive the ACH debit instruction. Return to text

9. It is important to note, however, that the rule implementing UIGEA is separate from BSA regulations, and due diligence for purposes of the UIGEA rule differs significantly from BSA due diligence. Return to text

10. For example, you may be able to determine that the customer presents a minimal risk of engaging in an Internet gambling business. If not, you may choose to obtain a certification from the customer that it does not engage in an Internet gambling business. As with all of your commercial customers, you would also need to provide notice to the customer that restricted transactions are prohibited from being processed through its accounts with you. Return to text

Online Gambling Banking Regulations Kenya

11. The rule's non-exclusive examples for card systems also include due diligence of commercial customers at account opening as an alternative to implementation of a coding system. Return to text

Online Gambling Banking Regulations For Real