Gambling Commission Consultation concludes Credit Cards risk

The UKGC has concluded that credit cards pose a risk of harm to online gamblers.

The UK Gambling Commission has developed a reputation for being a strict regulator of online gambling. Failure to follow the rules has resulted in severe penalties including fines such as the one against GVC Holdings for £5.9 million. The UKGC also sought to enhance player protection through updates to licensing. Today we’ve got an update on the Gambling Commission consultation currently being held by the UKGC concerning the risk of harm from credit cards.

Gambling Commission Consultation: Weighing new regulations

The UKGC has decided that the risk of harm from credit cards is real and is launching a consultation period over 12 weeks to weigh new regulations. The shakeup is expected to have one of two conclusions. The first is an outright ban on credit cards while the second, and less severe option, is to set restrictions on the maximum spending amounts.

They have launched a 12-week consultation to determine whether to implement a total ban or impose credit limits.

Credit Card use

Credit card use has been identified as risky because of the ability to spend more money than a player might actually have. The amount that they can borrow is limited only by their credit limit. Players may have more than one credit card which compounds the problem. The other issue is that credit cards are readily accessible. The changes decided upon by the Gambling Commission Consultation are expected to come into force in April 2020.