Online gamblers’ credit cards ban

PUNTERS will no longer be able to use their credit cards to place bets online after a major shake-up of rules announced by the industry regulator.

From April 14, people wanting to place bets online will have to do so by using either a debit card or through cash deposited into an account.

The credit card ban affects all gambling, with the exception of the National Lottery, the Gambling Commission said.

It follows concerted efforts to address problem gambling.

Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive, said:

“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.”

Mr McArthur said the ban needed to be backed by other action, while SNP MP Ronnie Cowan added: “This is welcomed but we mustn’t take our eyes off the prize and that’s a completely new gambling act.”

The government has come under pressure to introduce bans for the use of credit cards for online bets over the past two years by charity groups including Gamble Aware and Citizens Advice.

In 2018, the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) called on the Gambling Commission to consider restrictions on the use of “borrowed money” for online gambling.

Early in 2019, the watchdog launched a call for evidence on the matter.

An estimated 24 million adults gamble in Great Britain, with 10.5 million of those placing bets online.

It is thought that around 800,000 people use credit cards to gamble, with the regulator’s data showing that more than 165,000 customers made £46 million worth of credit card deposits in February last year.