Earlier this year, the UK Government’s questioned the use of credit cards in gambling. The Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport introduced the credit card ban in January. Tuesday (14 April) was the day the decision came into effect.
Protecting Consumers’ Safety as Their Main Goal
Any consumer gambling in the UK will not be able to use a credit card as payment anymore. This also extends to credit card gambling through e-wallets. The only exception to the new rule is the sale of non-remote lotteries.
The Commission believes that the ban will “add another vital layer of protection for consumers.”
According to the UK Finance, there are 800,000 consumers who gamble on credit cards. This figure is part of the larger fraction of the 24 million UK adults who gamble each year. Meanwhile, there are 10.5 million people who wager online.
Furthermore, 22% of online gamblers using credit cards are problem gamblers, with even more suffering some form of gambling harm.
“This credit card ban will further protect consumers from financial harm,” Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive stated. Ultimately, the ban “reduces the risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.”
Suitable Timing
Some players may be changing their gambling habits during the Covid-19 outbreak.
“The ban also comes at a vital time,” McArthur said. There has been “an increase in UK consumer interest in gambling products since the lockdown began”. These are online products such as online slots and virtual sports.
Therefore, the regulator has also taken steps in the past week to remind consumers of how gambling operators should be keeping them safe. And the credit card ban will help with that.
“This is another milestone and we will continue to look for ways to make gambling safer,” he concluded.
