Attorney General Bruning Asks Electronic Payment Association to Curb Online Gambling

[clevfan]

News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 19, 2006, 2:30pm CDT



Attorney General Bruning Asks Electronic Payment Association to Curb Online Gambling



(Lincoln, NE) Attorney General Jon Bruning today sent a letter to the president of National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), an electronic payments association, urging that its members cease service to online gambling Web sites.



"Foreign companies are effectively running a $12 billion online gambling business within the United States. An estimated $5 billion of that business is American money that we won't see again.



"We can't reach the online casinos because they operate in foreign countries, but we can ask American businesses not to facilitate illegal transactions," Bruning said.



Bruning requested that NACHA adopt and issue an Operations Bulletin with suggested business practices to assist members in protecting themselves from becoming a party to illegal online gambling.



"I am reminding NACHA that payments originated in the U.S. to online casinos are illegal both at the federal level and in many states, including Nebraska, and I'm asking for NACHA's help in curbing the illegal transactions," Bruning said.



The Automated Clearing House is an electronic banking network operating in the United States. It processes both credit and debit transactions. Rules and regulations governing the ACH network are established by NACHA and the Federal Reserve.