Australian banks support credit card ban on online gambling

According to Queensland MP Andrew Wallace, Australia’s four biggest banks back plans to ban credit card spending on online gambling.

Australia.- Queensland MP Andrew Wallace has said that an initiative to ban the use of credit cards for online gambling has the support of Australia’s biggest banks.

Wallace said he had garnered support from the four largest banks in Australia.

Credit cards are already banned from being used at casinos but the same restrictions do not apply for the digital gambling sector.

Wallace has called for a legislative change and hopes to take the proposal to MPs in the coming weeks.

He said that “the high interest rates and a high chance of loss could result in serious gambling-related harm for many people and families in Australia.”

Back in 2019, an association launched a consultation to collect community views on the risks of gambling online using credit cards.

About 81 per cent of participants agreed restrictions on gambling with credit cards should be introduced. Only about 7 per cent of respondents said restrictions were not necessary.

Although some banks have already banned customers from using credit cards for online gambling, a uniform ban across the sector has yet to be implemented.