by Devon Chappell, News Staff Writer

August 27, 2009
 

In the world of online gambling, there is something to be said for the phrase, "Don't ask, don't tell". Or perhaps it should just be "Don't tell". In other words, if you're an online casino operator and are looking for ways to accept U.S. players, perhaps it would be wise to abstain from advertising just how you plan on doing so. Sure, there are many loopholes around the UIGEA online gambling ban, notwithstanding the fact that banking institutions are not inclined to help police the myriad of transaction types that may or may not be classified as "illegal" gambling activities anyways.

However, leaking a particular loophole out to the general public, may not only give your competition a one-up, it might also get you into trouble, thus putting an end to the loophole altogether. Take, for instance, Rome Casino. Here at Online Casino Suite, we actually posted a news story earlier this month citing that Rome Casino announced it would be accepting American Express cards from U.S. players effective immediately.

You can imagine the word got out pretty fast. While Rome Casino apparently accepts other methods for making deposits and withdrawals from U.S. players, American Express is a premiere credit card that otherwise is not accepted at any online casino for that matter. In other words, Rome Casino had, in effect, announced it was the only online casino to accept American Express from U.S. players.

Not only did the word travel to players, it also got back to American Express, because shortly after Rome Casino's announcement, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications for American Express, Christine Elliott, announced that American Express cards cannot be used for gambling period - offline or online. Further citing Rome Casino as no exception to the rule, Elliot said a legal notification had been sent to Rome Casino, declaring the casino is not permitted to accept American Express from players and that it should remove the American Express logo from it's website, RomeCasino.com, immediately.

Rome Casino has not officially addressed these allegations, and nor have they removed the American Express logo from their website. In other words, it's business as usual as far as Rome Casino is concerned. As for Top Game Software, which powers Rome Casino, they too have not given any word on the matter.

The fact of the matter is that nothing can really stop Rome Casino from accepting American Express, especially if they know of a loophole that allows card holder's transactions to not be identified as gambling charges. The only thing that could really bring Rome Casino down would be U.S. federal authorities, who may just have their eyes on Rome Casino, now that they have made worldwide news. Only time will tell whether this relatively new online casino was rash or ingenious to announce they were accepting American Express from U.S. online gamblers.

Read the OCS Rome Casino Review for more information.

Back to CASINO NEWS