Date published: 14.04.2020

UK Credit Card Ban For Casino Payments Comes Into Effect

April 14th marks the day on which the credit card ban for casino payments comes into force in the United Kingdom. Restricting credit cards for payments to online and land-based casinos is another step of the UK Gambling Commission to protect vulnerable players.

This step was announced in January, and has now become effective. Any gambling establishment in the United Kingdom, and any online casino licensed by the UKGC is no longer allowed to process credit card payments.

According to the regulator, out of 10.5 million people who gamble, 800,000 use a credit card to make the payments. Of these 22% are problem gamblers who have a tendency to play with money they don't have.

The credit card ban aims to protect players, so that they are not able to play with money they don't have.

The ban also includes e-wallets, if e-wallet is linked to a credit card. Unless this isn't the case, you can still make payments with an e-wallet.

Prepaid cards and debit cards

The good news is that not all card payments are excluded. For example, debit cards like Visa Electron or Maestro cards can still be used to make payments, as they are linked to bank accounts directly. The same applies to prepaid cards, like for example a prepaid Mastercard, one that does not have a credit limit.

The ban only applies to credit cards that allow consumers to spend money that they do not have at that moment.

This restriction affects players from the United Kingdom. Players from other countries are excluded from the restriction.

In any case, we don't recommend playing with money that you don't have and encourage players to practice responsible gambling.

Measure to increase player protection

The credit card ban aims to protect problem gamblers in the UK. It's important for the regulator that players don't gamble with money that they don't have. It's just one of the measures to increase player protection and to reduce problem gambling.

Compulsive gamblers can also self-exclude from gambling through Gamstop ↱. UK-licensed online casinos also allow you to set limits in your player account. Read more about responsible gambling and what to look out for here.