UK to crack down on credit card use in gambling
Industry watchdog seeks to protect gamblers with the ban, in force from April
Credit cards will be banned from use in gambling from April, according to rules announced by the UK’s industry regulator on Tuesday in response to calls for greater protection of problem gamblers.
The ban, which comes following a consultation completed in November, was widely expected to be limited to online gambling, but will apply to offline betting as well with the exception of over-the-counter lottery tickets.
Shares in some of Britain’s biggest bookmakers fell in early trading. William Hill dropped 3.3 per cent, while Paddy Power Betfair owner Flutter and GVC, which owns Ladbrokes Coral, slipped just over 2 per cent.
Of the 24m adults who gamble in the UK, according to Gambling Commission figures, UK Finance estimates that 800,000 use credit cards.
“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,” said Neil McArthur, the Gambling Commission’s chief executive.
Many of the major betting companies, including Bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes, allow customers to gamble on credit, although company executives say that it is a minority of their business. William Hill said that fewer than 10 per cent of customers bet using a credit card.
The regulator said that, from the end of March, all online operators will have to take part in the Gamstop scheme, which allows vulnerable gamblers to exclude themselves from all betting websites on its books without having to close accounts at each operator.
It is the first time that the Gambling Commission has made Gamstop part of the licence conditions for operators. It was previously concerned that the industry might use data from the scheme to target marketing at gamblers who had self-excluded.
“It is important that self-exclusion schemes are as effective as possible and they will be most effective when used in combination with other blocking tools such as gambling blocking software and payment card blocking,” Mr McArthur said.
The changes come in response to growing calls from campaigners and politicians for stricter regulation of an industry that they say has failed problem gamblers. Last year the regulator enforced stricter age checks online and brought in a 98 per cent cut in the maximum stake permitted on high speed electronic slot machines — known as fixed odds betting terminals — in betting shops.
Culture minister Helen Whately said that the government would also carry out a review of the 2005 Gambling Act although no date has yet been set.