The UK Gambling Commission has announced a ban on gambling businesses allowing customers in the UK to use credit cards on gambling activities – these includes playing slots at online casinos.
The UKGC has today announced that credit cards will not be allowed to gamble from the 14th of April 2020. With research undertaken by the Commission, 800,000 consumers use credit cards to gamble – 22% of online gamblers using credit cards have been classed a problem gamblers.
Problem gambling exists but using credit cards can entail these consumers going into debt – if they use their debit card for example, they can only gamble with what they have in their bank account. Speaking of the announced, the Gambling Commission’s chief executive (Neil McArthur) commented:
“Credit card gambling can lead to significant financial harm. The ban that we have announced today should minimise the risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.
“Research shows that 22% of online gamblers using credit cards are problem gamblers, with even more suffering some form of gambling harm.
‘“We also know that there are examples of consumers who have accumulated tens of thousands of pounds of debt through gambling because of credit card availability. There is also evidence that the fees charged by credit cards can exacerbate the situation because the consumer can try to chase losses to a greater extent.”
Many consumers use credit cards responsibly so they will need to use a differing banking option to play their favourite casino or slot games online for example (i.e. debit cards, PayPal etc). For more information, visit the UKGC’s statement where you can see their findings in full.