Australian bank bans credit cards for gambling

The Macquarie bank from Australia has prohibited gambling transactions on its credit cards.

Australia.- More restrictions on gambling have been introduced this week in Australia, as the Macquarie bank has banned gambling and lottery transactions on its credit cards. The changes will take effect on July 1, Financial Review reports.

All transactions that involve gambling companies will be blocked when the cardholder tries to pay. The bank reached this decision after growing regulatory concerns in Australia and overseas in regards to easy access to credit by problem gamblers. While it is unknown if other banks will introduce such measure, some charge interest rates as high as 21% on these type of transactions.

According to finder.com.au, credit cards that allow gambling transactions are usually within the cash advances category. Macquarie said that the ban will be hard to enforce if merchants provide gambling services but their primary category is under another code.

An explanation to card owners from the bak said that there will be other instances where Macquarie will be unable to block the authorization of gambling or lottery-related transactions. “You’ll continue to be responsible for these, and all charges on your card.”