How can my bank tell me how to spend my money?

Question

I had a hometown bank and moved my accounts to Chase bank. I went to put $50.00 on my online poker account to play a few games last night and my card was declined. When I called the bank they said"Chase does not condone gambling" and would not let the charge go through. Who are they to say how I spend my money? Has anyone else had this problem?

Answer 1

They are the one who is doing business with the online gaming site even though it is technically "your" money.  They have every right to pick and choose which businesses they will do transactions with.  For whatever reasons (most likely legal and/or risk factors), they don't wish to do business with online gaming sites which means you can't deposit money with your Chase card.  You, in turn, have the choice of doing business with Chase based on their business practice.  Go with another bank if you don't like Chase.

Answer 2

You won't find many gambling sites that take Paypal but there's always a way to get money into gambling sites and your best bet is to go to the particular site and see all the ways you can do it and then choose the most convenient.

King Cobra Poker

Answer 3

Well it is not actually the bank's fault.

In one of the millions of incompetent moves that Bush has been responsible for, he allowed some fanatic called Bill Frist add some anti-gambling measures to a completely unrelated must pass anti-terrorism bill.

Interestingly Frist, added language to the bill that made it completely legal for American companies to allow online horse betting (guess which lobby group paid someone off).  He did this despite his assertion that gambling destroyed families.

But anyway, with the law change in late 2006, the government has pressured American banks to decline such transactions, because apparently the Bush administration thinks they know what is best for you.

So Chase has no choice but to decline or face the wrath of the government.

So what you need to do is take a trip to Walgreens (or similar) buy a $50 Visa/Mastercard gift card, and then use this for your deposit.  These cards are not blocked, and work just fine.

When you are ready to pull your winnings out, you can have them send you a check.

I recommend Poker Stars or Full Tilt Poker, as the best places to play.

Answer 4

Go though PayPal, You can transfer from your bank to PayPal then to the website of your choosing. Make sure the site accepts Paypal. Most do but you never know