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. One of the items 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 fact that it is very easy to feel detached from the reality of money spent online. Gradually racking up a debt online will not feel the identical to handing over money from our wallet, so it’s that much easier to reduce track of how your online spending is mounting up.
Therefore, debt problems from internet gambling are on the increase. In this post I hope to clarify a number of the legalities around online gambling, as well as providing some advice on coping with the underlying problem and the debts that result from it.
LEGALITIES Around Gambling Debts
When we talk about debt from online gambling it is very important be clear about the nature of your debt, because who the amount of 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 isn’t then enforceable through the law.
However, there is a significant point to make here, which is that this only applies while 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 a legally enforceable debt exactly like it would be in any other circumstance, because you have borrowed money from the charge card company, not the casino. It is now against the law in america to use a credit card to pay for online gambling.
PG 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 can be pursued through legal action. If you do use a credit card to pay for online gambling this way, you should be aware that cash advances on credit cards are nearly always charged at a much higher 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 led to the debt. Even if the debt is dealt with, chances are to build up again if the root 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 sources of the debt. To permanently cope with debt you should not be considering borrowing more money or paying anyone to cope with your debt for you. 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 that you can afford. There is clearly more to it than that, nonetheless it is beyond the scope of this particular article. The process is straightforward and allows you to take back control of your finances.