Ban on Credit Card Usage in UK iGaming and Its Impact on a Wider Sense
On the 14h of January 2020, the UK Gambling Commission declared the ban of credit cards on UK iGaming. The regulation is expected to be active from the 14th of April, 2020. Therefore, the iGaming players will have to bet on their debit cards or online cash deposits.
As per the UK Commission, betting on online gaming activities is proof of being an illogical and irresponsible citizen. Additionally, this new regulation on credit card ban won’t allow players to bet on the money they don’t have in their pockets. Though the initiation was taken long before two years by GambleAware and the Charity Groups Citizens, the law has finally been imposed into action.
Reason Behind the Drastic Decision Taking in UK iGaming
On the basis of a thorough analysis, it has come under our vision that more than 22% of iGamblers prefer using credit cards while betting online. However, most of them are unaware of the fact that their credit card debts are reaching the sky limit due to this irresponsible behaviour.
The UK Commission secretly conducted a survey of 2000 gamblers where 150 of them chose credit cards for gambling. In addition, they found 22% problem-gamblers among them which made the government take a firm decision as soon as possible.
Thus, the UK Commission has found it as a wiser option to ban credit card usage. According to their forecasting, this is going to be a revolutionary approach to begin responsible UK iGaming among the citizens. So the risky and irrational gaming should stop and the online gamers become more aware and sensible while they bet.
Primary Expectations of the UK Commission
The UK Gambling Commission is expecting a change of approach among online gamers. By implementing this act, they want to ensure the players invest cash online only for solid reasons. As gambling is an unstoppable urge among online players, knowing when you stop becomes impossible for players betting on their credit cards. When money has always been a significant factor in living, these iGamers have to stop gambling it away unnecessarily.
As the ban isn’t active yet, the highly-engaging UK iGaming sites, such as – Betfair, PokerStars, Betplayer, 888 and Bet365 are still accepting credit cards. Simultaneously, the entire nation is criticizing them for putting their players into huge debts. The CEO, Neil MacArthur has already given another hint of banning PayPal and other wallets as well in online gambling. Despite receiving multiple feedbacks, this move is going to be a revolutionary shift in the UK iGaming industry.
Since responsible gambling has been a matter of concern for the UK government, more regulations are coming on its way. While allowing players to spend rationally on online betting, these regulations might also act as a habit check for them. For instance, A record fine of 2.34 million Euro was imposed by the Malta Gambling Authority on Blackrock Media.
UK iGaming Forecast
Online casinos and Poker games have become the most significant parts of today’s online gaming industry. Simultaneously, social media and other entertainment networks are only taking their popularity further.
Despite being an engaging online activity, there are some challenges in controlling some of its aspects. For example, underage children are also taking part in UK iGaming which is quite impossible to determine beforehand. While betting on a credit card is one of the entire set of new challenges, there are many more of them, constantly making room for fraudulent activities.
There are certain targeted areas of the UK online gambling industry where proactive measures will be taken soon. Undoubtedly, those measures will be good for the unbreakable challenges that the Gambling Commission is facing right now. However, there are clear differences between pushing the casinos under tight regulations and initiating to impose acts on its negativity. While the later one will give a positive impact on the community, the former act isn’t going to be long-lasting.
The Final Matter
Additionally, in recent years, the commission has also decided on tightening the regulations of the UK iGaming sites. For example – capping the highest stakes on terminals, age and identity checks, etc. Nevertheless, these changes will bring certain obstacles to non-problem gambling players. Although the firms with a considerably higher VIP customer base will have less impact than the rest.
Similar to the UK Commission, other countries are also initiating to encourage responsible gambling. As soon as the credit card ban starts making its positive impact on the UK iGaming industry, similar impositions from other countries will definitely be following its way.