According to the British media, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will recommend a credit card ban in online gambling.
Assessing the current UK gambling landscape
The news was reported by both The Sunday Times and The Observer this weekend. If this ban comes into force, it will apply to all verticals.
This recommendation will form part of the UKGC’s publishing of its findings related to credit wagering. The media expects that it’ll be released at some stage this week.
The consultation for the above has gone on for a year and was called by the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport. During this time, the UKGC has assessed regulatory structures and what the industry is doing to ensure the safety players betting with a credit card.
Back in August 2019, the Commission begun asking industry members for their thoughts on the regulation of credit card wagering. It mentioned that a potential credit card ban could come into place once their research had concluded.
Through suggesting these new restrictions to the government, the UKGC hopes that it can stop brands from ‘exploiting vulnerable customers’.
Ban probably anticipated by many
The credit card ban, if it’s implemented, probably won’t surprise many in UK online gambling. Previously, there had been calls for B2C teams to introduce stricter measures and monitor transactions of this nature.
In a separate investigation, the UKGC found that some operators were making disproportionate revenue through VIP schemes. And aligning with this, a clear link between these programs and problem gambling was revealed.
Following this study’s conclusion, for which assessed operators remained anonymous, the governing body revealed that it would consider banning VIP schemes. So, with everything considered, we might see a broader review of UK gambling this year.
