To get around banking laws, more Australians are using prepaid debit cards to load money into offshore gaming accounts.
Tech company eMerchants created the prepaid cards system for offshore bookmakers, and Australians loaded $90 million onto the cards during the first half of the current financial year. That amount is four times that loaded onto the cards a year ago.
Gambling companies view the prepaid debit cards as a way for Australians to get around national banking laws banning the handling of transactions for online and offshore wagering sites.
The cards roughly work the same way as a bank debit card, except they are tied to a wagering account, instead of a bank account.
Officials for Sportsbet, which is Australia’s largest online gaming firm, said customers can use the cards to access their winnings faster, but they also can get their money through slower personal bank account transactions.
The cards also can come with fees that some cardholders might find excessive, and some gaming companies require players to gamble their initial deposit amount many times over before withdrawing any money.
