Online Gambling and Mortgages

In what is certainly going to come as a surprise to online players, banks and mortgage lenders have made it known that they’re less likely to loan online casino players and online sports bettors money – especially home loans. This relates to all related asset financing such as homes, vehicles, equipment and so forth. Lenders are apparently so unsure of who is going to default on payments that an online gaming scapegoat has come into play. Financial institutions are now weighing their options with regards to online casino players.

But just how do they plan on investigating whether folks are playing at online casinos? That’s a question best left to their guys.  Suffice it to say, lenders are going through the bank statements of their clients – line by line – to ensure that no online gambling activity is showing up.

Belt Tightening Not Carefree Spending

Injudicious spending sprees – especially in the form of online casino gaming (as it is claimed) is the reason for the collapse of many repayment initiatives. People simply waste too much and can’t repay their lenders. According to CEO of Mortgage Debt Advisory Firm Negotiate Trevor Grant, gambling is an ill-advised pastime. In his opinion it certainly should be worthy of instant disqualification – or at the very least, red-flagging. The global popularity of online casino gaming and online poker room gaming cannot be disputed.  It is true that online casino slots are enjoyed by millions of people – as are online poker rooms – in spite of the ban in many jurisdictions.

Mortgage lenders and banks are thus focusing on the personal habits of applicants, in an attempt to root out ‘high risk’ elements. That an online casino player is any more likely to default than an accountant who shuns such activity is baseless. Much of the issue stems from job security – a factor that is dependent of the economy at large and not on a particular habit that is usually managed well by 90% of online casino players.

Ironically, pro-poker fundis have made a mint at online poker rooms. So much so, that should they transfer some of massive winnings to their bank accounts, the mortgage lenders might re-think their strategies – or not! Online gambling transactions – by and large – are viewed negatively by loan officers. This looks set to continue well into the future – especially in light of the poor economic performance figures and high unemployment levels.

Who knows – Einstein always said: ‘God does not play dice with the universe.’ Maybe that was just space-time talk!