UKGC Bans Credit Card Use in Online Poker and Other Online Gambling
As of April 2020, gaming operators in the United Kingdom will need to stop processing credit card transactions, according to a new regulation issued by the UK Gambling Commission.
The news was announced on January 14th, after last year’s 12-week consultation which sought opinions from consumers, gambling organizations, and operators.
UK legislators who have been working towards ban gambling-related credit-card transactions for quite some time prompted the UK Gambling Commission to review data from UK Finance.
The regulatory body learned that 800,000 UK gamblers used credit cards in 2018. Upon a further research, it was discovered that 22 percent of online consumers use credit cards.
The public consultation and the statistics, as well as a desire to promote safe gambling all played a part in the UKGC’s reaching the decision that credit card payments to gaming companies will be prohibited as of April 14th, 2020.
Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur stated:
“The ban is part of our ongoing work to reduce gambling harm. We also need to continue the work we have been doing with gambling operators and the finance industry to ensure consumers only gamble with money they can afford to spend.”
The UK Culture Minister Helen Whatley agreed, adding: “There is clear evidence of harm from consumers betting with money they do not have, so it is absolutely right that we act decisively to protect them.”
According to the regulators, the ban will apply to all online and offline gambling products, including poker. The only exception will be non-remote lotteries since blocking credit card payments could be too burdensome for the retailers.
Even though operators won’t be able to accept credit card deposits after April 14th, it doesn’t mean that players won’t be able to fund their accounts using other methods such as eWallets and cryptocurrencies. They will still be able to use services like PayPal and Neteller.
