I was reading online today that customers will not be able to use their credit card to gamble online from the 14th of April, 2020. Apparently up to 22% of online gamblers who use a credit card to fund their account are problem gamblers.
I personally have never used my credit card to fund a betting account, though I do use my debit card.
I can sort of understand why a credit card could be a bad thing as you can spend money you currently do not have, whereas with a debit card you actually need to have the funds available in your bank account.
What do you think, is this good or bad news for you?
Having a debit card does not protect you totally. I know a friend who was able to get a £3000 overdraft and he was able to waste all this online gambling using his debit card. The end result whether a credit or debit card, you can still get yourself into a lot of trouble if a problem gambler.
@Lee
True, I think banning credit cards to a problem gambler will be nothing more than a minor inconvenience until they find another way. I am also curious if this means Paypal will not be blocked from all betting companies as you can upload funds via your credit card to Paypal.
@Scott
Interesting about Paypal as that is a good point regarding credit cards. Someone could upload funds from credit card to Paypal and then use it to gamble! How will they get around this.
@Lee
Very true, having a overdraft on a debit card could be just as damaging if not more as the daily charges would be much higher than a credit card.
@Lee
It's also possible to send money to your bank account from a credit card. I can do that with my MasterCard so how is that going to stop a problem gambler? The problem is a lot deeper than what these prevention companies think. Betting companies have hidden VIP clubs where they are phoning and emailing people who are spending a ton of money with lucrative deals almost daily, and giving them gifts and free tickets to events etc. The betting companies do not actually care, a problem gambler for them is a dream even though they will try to make it out that it is not.
It did mention that lotteries would not be affected but they would have stricter rules. Not sure how that works as Camelot also have scratchcards and other things on their website which is clearly gambling.
They will probably give lotteries more leeway as they donate to good causes. Still not right though.
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