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Credit Card Gambling on the Chopping Block in Australia
By Shane Addinall May 08, 2023 IndustryWe discuss the recent push by Labor in Australia to ban online gamblers from funding their accounts and receiving withdrawals using their credit cards. Where does regulation begin to impinge on free will and the right to self-determination?The Australian government has tabled new legislation that could soon see it joining the ranks of the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Germany. What all of these regions have in common is the decision to protect at-risk gamblers from harm by banning deposits using credit cards.
Credit Card Gambling is Already Banned
While this might sound like a bold stance for the country to take, the reality is that the use of credit cards has been banned in land-based casinos, pokie halls, and other venues offering games of chance for nearly twenty years.
Australian Banking Association (ABA) Chief Executive Officer Anna Bligh said:
Quote“This is a long overdue reform, and it’s a credit to the relevant Ministers that they’ve taken such a decisive move so early in their term. The use of credit cards was prohibited for gambling in hotels, clubs, casinos, and TAB outlets by state and territory governments in the early 2000s but can currently still be used for online gambling.”
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland added:
Quote“It’s as simple as this: people should not be betting with money they do not have.”
That an Australian gambler would have to pay for their pokie spins in cash at a local casino while sitting in the same location gambling on an app using a credit card has long been considered an “absurd reality” according to Bligh.
Tying Off the Credit Card Loophole
Labor intends to write an amendment to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 into force, which will allow all Australian banks to block credit card transactions for online gambling using Bank Identification Numbers (BINs).
According to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth:
Quote“BIN blocking has been successfully deployed by Australian casinos and poker machine locations to prevent credit card withdrawals from ATMs and has been used in the UK to implement their credit card ban for online gaming.”
The decision has not only been warmly accepted by the ABA but also by the Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Carol Bennett, who said:
Quote“This is a significant step in reducing harm. We know that many people experience high levels of gambling damage, and these people are much more likely to use credit cards for cash advances. This is money that people can barely afford to use.”
This is in reference to a report by Responsible Wagering Australia where they noted that online gambling using credit cards had risen sharply from 13.7% in 2021 to mover 20% the following year. With the current economic situation, it was feared that this trend would continue.
The War On Gambling Wages On
Bennet admitted in an interview that these restrictive measures are only the beginning. While banning credit cards from depositing and receiving funds from online gambling sites will aid in suppressing harm, they acknowledge that players can still withdraw cash and gamble locally or use these cards to fund offshore web wallets, which do not fall under the purview of the Gambling Act.
She added that the Alliance for Gambling Reform would continue to lobby for further gambling limitations, such as banning all advertising in the country.
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