Credit card gambling laws in the UK are confusing to many. They often go against the same laws in different countries, leaving many people scratching their heads and wondering what’s going on. This guide will introduce you to the UK credit card gambling laws while answering any common questions you could have about the topic.
A Summary Of Credit Card Gambling in the UK
We’ll begin with a basic understanding of credit card gambling in the United Kingdom. Since 2020, the UK Gambling Commission banned the use of credit cards across all gambling businesses.
As noted on the website’s page about Gambling Using a Credit Card, this encompasses all of the following activities:
- Online sports betting
- Online casino and bingo gambling
- Playing online poker
- Lotteries accepting online payments
- Betting at high street bookies
- Betting at horse racing tracks
- In-person casinos, bingo halls and arcades
It’s a very strict regulation that prohibits credit card gambling for any players in the United Kingdom. Moreover, all gambling operators in this country must abide by this rule and are legally obliged to remove credit cards as a payment option.
Can UK Players Find Ways To Gamble With Credit Cards?
Despite there being such tough restrictions on credit card gambling, UK punters will have a few ways to use this payment method for certain gambling activities.
For starters, if you buy lottery tickets in a shop as part of a wider shop with other products, you won’t be prevented from using a credit card.
It’s also noted by HSBC that there’s no guarantee that 100% of gambling payments will be blocked by card issuers. This mainly comes from payments made through PayPal or other e-wallets. It’s technically possible to fund your account via these platforms using credit cards and then use PayPal to make a gambling payment. Some punters can get away with this while others will see their transactions blocked by their banks.
The third way to gamble with credit cards is by finding online casinos that accept credit cards UK in different countries. A large chunk of casinos in Europe or island territories will be open to the British public yet operate outside of the Gambling Commission’s rulebook. How can they do this? Because they’re not registered in the UK, so don’t need a UK licence and don’t have to follow UK gambling rules.
If a site accepts your patronage and allows credit card payments, nothing will prevent you from pushing ahead with these transactions. The UK gambling laws only apply to gambling operators registered in the country.
Why Did The UK Ban Credit Card Gambling?
People from different countries always ask this question as they don’t understand it. The official reasoning is that credit card gambling leads to an increased risk for patrons. Theoretically, you’re gambling with money you don’t have when you use a credit card. You can max out the limit and be unable to pay your bill at the end of the month. This leads to a big spiral and insurmountable credit card debt.
You can see the logic behind this reasoning and it makes a fair amount of sense. People arguing against this ban will point out that misusing credit cards is nothing new. It’s one of the most common money mistakes you can make – and thousands of people end up in credit card debt without partaking in any gambling activities at all. If you ban credit card gambling, shouldn’t that mean you ban credit card usage for other purchases – like buying expensive goods that might land the person in debt?
It’s a debate that’s raged on since 2020 but the fact remains credit card gambling is banned in the UK. There are ways to (legally) get around this ban, though the government’s stance is clear. It doesn’t want credit cards to be used for gambling purposes and there doesn’t look like any changes to this will be coming soon.
