UK credit card gambling ban deemed a positive measure

In January the United Kingdom Gambling Commission announced that all players residing in Britain will be banned from using credit cards for gambling. According to UKGC’s stats, 22% of the 800,000 who use credit cards to gamble are considered problem gamblers. The ban will come into effect on the 14th of April and according to the Board Member of PXP Financial, Kamran Hedjri, it is a positive measure.

Nevertheless, he believes that the general impact of the ban is a bit limited, due to the fact that other payment methods are more popular among players. More specifically, according to a research made by PXP Financial into the payment habits of different generations, 55% of those asked believe that the ban will have a long-term negative effect on the industry.

The research was focused on those born from 1997 onwards, on the Millenials (i.e. those born between 1981 and 1995) and on Generation X (i.e. those born between 1965 and 1980). Its results showed that 59% of Generation X gamblers use credit cards, while only 49% of the Millennial gamblers use them as their main payment method.

It is worth noting that, in total, 67% of Generation X gamblers argued that the credit card ban will have a negative impact on the industry. It is also worth noting that, 45% of all respondents across the generations said that they use debit cards as their main deposit method for gambling; whilst 53% use various payment methods.

Consequently, Hedjri characterized the credit card ban overrated, as most of the cards that are being used for gambling purposes are debit cards and only a small amount are actually credit cards. Furthermore, he argued that players will divert to other payments, such as bank transfer and e-wallets. However, he stated that, overall, the ban is a good move for the industry and nobody should bet on credit.