MasterCard, along with Visa, is one of the most ubiquitous names in worldwide payment processing. With over 25,000 different banks issuing MasterCard credit and debit cards, along with many other payment processing services, it’s no surprise that MasterCard is accepted at millions of locations around the world and online. Because it is such a well-known and reliable brand name, online gambling sites are happy to accept MasterCard in most cases. If you have a MasterCard, it’s likely that your online poker site of choice will accept it – unless local laws have made such transactions illegal.

Top MasterCard Poker Sites in United States

Which Poker Rooms Accept MasterCard Deposits?

Because MasterCard-branded cards are issued by tens of thousands of different financial institutions, there is no single policy towards online gambling that applies to all MasterCard cards. Because the majority of banks around the world will allow their MasterCard-branded credit or debit cards to be used on online poker sites, most online poker rooms do list the MasterCard as an option for making deposits.

Despite this, it is certainly possible that you may try to deposit onto your favorite online poker site using your MasterCard, only to find that the transaction has been rejected. This is likely the cause of your issuing bank putting a stop on gambling-related transactions. In many cases, this is due to local regulations; for instance, many banks prohibit such deposits in the United States due to laws that regulate what types of transactions financial institutions can process.

A Look at MasterCard’s Origins

MasterCard was founded by two entrepreneurs from Kentucky: Raymond Tanenhaus and Stanley Benovitz. Soon thereafter, it was bought out by United California Bank in 1966, and other banks joined in to back the new card brand, which was known as MasterCharge. This new credit card quickly grew as a rival to the BankAmericard that was issued by Bank of America – what would eventually become the Visa card.

Eventually, MasterCard Worldwide became a membership organization that included over 25,000 banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. While the company is now publically traded (the company had an IPO in 2006, and is now traded on the New York Stock Exchange), the concept behind the card remains the same. MasterCard, like Visa, does not directly issue their cards and send them to consumers. Instead, individual financial organizations can join MasterCard and begin issuing cards to their customers, allowing the individual banks some control over how their cards are used. Often, cards will be branded with both the name of the individual bank and the MasterCard logo.

Today, MasterCard is a multinational corporation that processes payments around the world. They have become particularly dominant in Europe, where there have been concerns over the fact that MasterCard and Visa combine to process almost all payments in the European Union. Many MasterCard products are issued under more specific brand names, such as MasterMoney, PayPass, Maestro and others. MasterCard is also heavily involved in the sporting world, sponsoring teams and competitions like the UEFA Champions League, the New Zealand All Blacks national rugby team, and PGA Tour events.