Woman Sues Over Internet Gambling Losses

A San Rafael woman who racked up more than $70,000 in online gambling losses is trying to get out of paying her credit card bills on the grounds that wagering on the Internet is illegal. Cynthia Haines is being sued by San Francisco-based Providian National Bank for not paying her credit card bills. On July 23, she countersued the credit card firm and 50 online gambling operators, seeking to bar the credit card companies and their issuing banks from collecting gambling debts owed by California consumers because most gambling is illegal in the state and online wagering is illegal in the United States. If Haines’ lawsuit is successful, it could cause the collapse of the Internet gambling industry, which brings in $600 million annually in wagers, said I. Nelson Rose, a Whittier College law professor and American Bar Assn. expert on gambling law.