One thing there is absolutely no shortage of on the internet is opportunities to gamble. We are spoilt for choice, whether your fancy is for betting on sports, playing virtual cards or bingo. Among the things that makes internet gambling so potentially dangerous is that it is easily available every day and night a day.
The real danger comes when you combine this factor with the truth that it is so 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 lose track of how your web spending is mounting up.
For these reasons, debt problems from internet gambling are on the increase. In this post I hope to clarify some of the legal issues around online gambling, together with providing some advice on dealing with the underlying problem and the debts that result from it.
LEGALITIES Around Gambling Debts
When we discuss debt from online gambling it is important to be clear about the nature of your debt, because who the money is owed to does make a difference. People are often unsure about the legality of debts from online gambling. In the UK you can gamble legally on credit and incur a debt, but this debt is not then enforceable through regulations.
However, there is an important point to make here, that is that this only applies if you are using credit extended by the company offering the gambling (casino, bookie, etc). If you use a credit card company to cover internet gambling, that is clearly a legally enforceable debt exactly like it would be in any other circumstance, because you have borrowed money from the credit card company, not the casino. It really is now against the law in america to use a credit card to cover online gambling.
You will find that lots of credit cards will regard a payment to an internet gambling website as a cash advance. This is then clearly borrowing money from the card company and the debt you incur can be pursued through legal action. If you do use a credit card to cover online gambling this way, you should be aware that cash advances on bank cards are almost always charged at a higher rate of interest than normal credit for purchases.
HOW TO APPROACH Debts Caused By Gambling
In working with gambling debts, you can find two separate issues to tackle. One may be the debt itself, and another is 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. Let us first consider the problem of paying off the debt.
The principles for tackling debt are nearly always 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 deal with your debt for you personally. These courses of action are likely to deepen your debt in the long run.
With a little advice, it is possible to deal with your debts yourself, by contacting your creditors and agreeing terms for repayment you could afford. There’s clearly more to it than that, nonetheless it is beyond the scope of this particular article. The process is easy and allows you to get back control of your finances .