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Discover Card Nixes Credit for Net Gambling

``The agreement stems from a legal dispute between Discover and Frederick Marino, an online gambler who racked up more than $70,000 total in wagering debt, losing both his house and his wife in the process.

``Ira Rothken, Marino's attorney, said he hoped the agreement would encourage credit card companies to crack down on online wagering.

``…Rothken downplayed the fact that Marino had run up a gambling debt he couldn't afford.

``…Marino sued both Discover and American Express two years ago on behalf of the state's residents and struck deals with some other credit card companies he had used for online wagering. Discover has agreed to relieve him of the $700 he charged on its card and pay $2,000 in attorney's fees.

``…Discover Card said it's had a policy for years to not do business with any site that it knows participates in online gambling. If the company finds out that one of its clients is running an online casino, it pulls the account, according to a spokeswoman.

``…As the number of wagering sites grows, along with the number of people losing vast amounts of money through them, more gamblers are turning to the courts in an attempt to wipe out or reduce their debt. Many use the same argument Marino did: The credit card companies are loaning people money for gambling…"

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