Since the reversal of their anti gambling stance in 2006, PayPal have gradually and selectively moved in on the UK and European gambling market. Their newest collaboration is with the online bingo group St Minver (who were recently bought out by gaming technology giants GTECH).
St Minver has a range of UK bingo sites and operates in an extremely competitive market. By linking in with PayPal, who have 23 million UK account users, they are hoping to give themselves the edge over rival sites.
Playing it Safe
PayPal is already an established and popular payment method for online business transactions. The system works particularly well for online punters, acting as a 'middle man' between the casino site and the player.
The customer provides all his financial and personal information to PayPal on setting up an account, saving him the risk of having to share this sensitive information with unknown sites. It also means that he does not need to re-enter this data again and again on different sites, saving time as well as removing risk.
Another benefit is the ease of use and swift transaction time for PayPal users. Punters will be able to see, and access, their funds as soon as the payments are processed by the online casino.
UK Gambling Goes Mainstream
The acceptance of more online gambling sites by PayPal is perhaps indicative of the increasingly mainstream position of gambling in the UK. With advertising now targeting an increasingly new, younger and non-traditional customer base, online gambling in the UK is becoming a socially acceptable pursuit.
St Minver powered online bingo sites include: Inter Bingo, Mail Bingo, VIP Poker Club and Bingo ID.
New gaming regulator for online gambling haven
Long on operators and short on real regulation is the widely held player perception of the Costa Rica licensing jurisdiction in online gambling. Whilst the Central American country is home to many large gambling operators, it's support for player disputes with online gambling venues is not generally well regarded.
That may be all about to change, according to reports in the local media which inform that government plans to introduce legislation which will see all licensees in the country - both land and online - brought under the real authority of a national regulator. The reports cite the worsening economic situation as the spur for the new interest in a proper regulatory regime.
The finance minister, Guillermo Zuniga, has proposed hiking the tax on gambling operator gross revenues by 2 percent to help weather the economic storm, and he has apparently confirmed that there will be more meaningful controls on operators flowing from the new legislation.
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The Finance Ministry expects to realise an additional $85 million a year from the tax hike.
Zuniga told reporters that the new gambling arrangements would see a regulatory body with responsbilities to several ministries issuing licenses and policing the operation of licensees. It would be given authority over both land and online gambling operations, he advised. The minister added that the decision to form a regulatory body brought Costa Rica in line with the international trend to regulate and license gambling.
Online gambling activity has never been formally regulated under Costa Rica’s gambling laws, with Internet operators instead taking out business-oriented licenses on the understanding that they will not allow locals to wager. Previous attempts to control online gambling by the government have not been particularly successful.
In 2003 a law was passed requiring online gambling operators to register with the Ministry of Finance and generally inconclusive debate has taken place among lawmakers in the National Assembly from time to time.
Media reports to date do not offer clarity on how a new regulator might apply taxation, licensing and compliance procedures
Original Article: http://www.onlinecasinoreports.com/news/theheadlines/2009/8/4/online-bingo-players-play-with-paypal.php