BetMGM is discontinuing credit card payments completely following a fraud-related agreement with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

This decision comes after a $100,000 penalty was levied against the operator for not establishing adequate measures to mitigate fraudulent activities, specifically in identity verification, as reported by Payments Journal.

The PGCB noted several instances where fraudulent individuals created accounts, transferred money, and withdrew funds utilizing stolen or fictitious identities over multiple years.

In one notable incident, an individual opened 119 accounts between BetMGM and Borgata, engaging in nearly $900,000 in gambling transactions. A separate operation from 2021 to 2024 saw a fraud ring generating 1,567 accounts, depositing over $13,000 using stolen payment methods and withdrawing more than $28,000.

BetMGM is now part of a growing trend among gambling companies that are phasing out credit cards. FanDuel halted credit card payments earlier this year after Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted that about a quarter of bettors utilized credit cards, often facing fees as high as 50% of their initial wager.

DraftKings also cited excessive fees as a reason for discontinuing credit card payments last year. It was subsequently fined $450,000 by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for breaching the state’s credit card regulations. The company claimed it misunderstood the law, believing it only applied to users physically present in Massachusetts.

Online sports betting is currently authorized in 32 states, with Massachusetts and seven other states already banning credit card usage for gambling. Recently, Maine lawmakers passed legislation that will prohibit credit card financing for online betting and mandate operators to revamp their payment methods—including digital wallets, mobile applications, websites, and physical kiosks—to automatically block such transactions.