Gambling Commission launches consultation on gambling with credit cards

The Commission is consulting the public and all other stakeholders on whether there should be a ban on using credit cards to gamble or whether limits and restrictions on such use of credit cards should be introduced. While much of the earlier discussion focused on banning the use of credit cards for online gambling, the options open for consultation concern all sectors of the gambling industry, including online betting but also casino, bingo and lottery operators, along with high street bookmakers.

The Commissions call for evidence in July 2019 raised related issues to imposing a ban, such as consumers using alternative forms of borrowing (such as overdrafts or loans) to fund gambling or whether a ban could require e-wallet providers to take action given operators have no means of knowing which method the deposit originated from when e-wallets are used.

In the consultation documentation, the Commissions states that, in the case of a ban, it would need to prevent gambling operators from accepting any payment via e-wallets unless e-wallet providers could prevent credit cards being used for online gambling through their facilities. If restrictions or limits were imposed, the Commission would need to make sure that any such limits or restrictions could be equally applied to the use of credit cards through e-wallets.