Rising concern for vulnerable customers prompts potential move by Gambling Commission
The gambling industry watchdog is preparing to ban bookmakers from taking credit card deposits for betting online, in the latest move to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable customers.
The Gambling Commission is expected to announce thelong-awaited ban on credit card wagers, with the rules due to be unveiled as soon as Tuesday. Well-placed sources said an announcement by the regulator was imminent. It comes two years after charity groups such as GambleAware and Citizens Advice
Major betting websites including PokerStars, Betfair, and Bet all currently allow their customers to make deposits online using credit cards, which has led to warnings from campaigners that gamblers risk racking up huge debts.
Last year, the Guardian reported on the case of a problem gambler who used nine credit cards to spend hundreds of thousands of poundswith online casinos, who she claimed ignored her obvious signs of a spiralling addiction. Her losses include one of £ 49, 06 in an overnight spree when she was allowed to place bets worth more than £ (*************************************************************************************, 06 on one website in a single session .
The regulator is expected to unveil a full ban on credit cards being used for online gambling accounts. Customers will be limited to using their debit cards to prevent them from overextending themselves.
The consultation that led to the commission’s decision included e-wallets, indicating that payment services such as PayPal will probably be included in the ban. The Guardian revealed last year that such providers had allowedproblem gamblers to circumvent banking limitsand spend up to £ 187, 10 a day.
In addition to the credit card crackdown, the commission is also preparing to announce that membership of (GamStop) will become a condition of online casinos’ license to operate. GamStop allows people who want to block themselves from gambling voluntarily to give their details, which are then shared to prevent them from opening new accounts elsewhere. The system is designed to spot attempts to fool it, such as by using pseudonyms.
The commission’s approval of GamStop means any bookmaker or online casino that wants to operate in the UK will have to sign up to the scheme. The regulator had held off from approving the scheme until now, amid concern that it could not guarantee that people registered to it would not also be sent marketing material encouraging them to bet.
The move indicates the regulator is finally satisfied that GamStop is effective, coming after years of delays beyond its original launch date in 2019 amid criticism that it wasineffective at barring addicts from placing bets. ******
A ban on gambling on credit has been Labor policy since September (********************************************************************, after mounting support from MPs across the political divide to prevent gambling firms from exploiting vulnerable customers.
The regulator’s latest interventions come amid mounting expectations that the government will begin the process of drawing up a new (Gambling) ******************************** (Act to replace the one passed by Tony Blair’s government in 2017, which has been criticized for dramatically reducing regulation.
The industry’s reputation has taken further blows in recent weeks after revelations about its reliance on so-called VIPs making heavy losses (**********************************, and concerns about a
The Gambling Commission and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport both declined to comment.
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