GBGC's Decision to Halt Credit Cards for Gambling Becomes Effective

On January 14, 2020, the regulator of Great Britain’s gambling industry pointed out that credit cards will be banned for gambling, as an extra layer of consumer protection needs to be added. Today, three months later, on April 14, the decision officially becomes effective.

Undoubtedly, the measure will provoke numerous turbulences in the industry, but how will it exactly affect both players and operators?

Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive, commented as follows:

“This credit card ban will further protect consumers from financial harm and from today, nobody in Great Britain can use a credit card to gamble. It is a ban which ultimately reduces the risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.”

Reaching an Important Milestone

This strict measure follows the Commission’s review of online gambling and the Government’s Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures. It was initially announced in January, on behalf of both the Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Moreover…

… it’s a direct result of a public consultation carried out between August and November 2019, where the idea of the ban was widely discussed.

McArthur also added:

“The ban also comes at a vital time as we are seeing an increase in the use of some online products, such as online slots and virtual sports, and our online search analysis shows an increase in UK consumer interest in gambling products since the lockdown began. This highlights just how important it is for gambling operators to keep people safe and the credit card ban will help that.

It’s important to mention that…

…the prohibition extends to credit card gambling through e-wallets. This means that the operators can only accept customer payments via e-wallets if those e-wallets prevent the use of credit cards for gambling. One of the alternative solutions is Easy Payment Gateway, payment and fraud management services aggregator.

Shocking Stats

As far as the Commission pointed out, this represents huge progress in the protection of online customers from harm. According to the stats, about 10.5 million people gamble on the Internet, and 800,000 use credit cards for this purpose.

Research also highlights that 22% of online punters utilizing credit cards are categorized as problem gamblers, with even more suffering some form of gambling harm.

Great Britain is not the only market…

…which is taking some serious measures regarding transactions, Spain is also considering this option. New Zealand is contemplating this idea after consultation with the UK and Australia held last year.

The Commission’s decision becomes effective in the most appropriate moment, as it turns out, having in mind that some players may be changing their gambling habits in the light of the current situation.

Source:

“Protecting the safety of consumers is at the heart of today’s credit card gambling ban”, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, April 14, 2020.