New South Wales pushes for responsible gambling
The New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling is pushing several initiatives to push for a safer, healthier gambling environment in the Australian region.
Australia.- Responsible gambling is a major topic across the world and Australia will tackle it. The New South Wales (NSW) Office of Responsible Gambling is developing new initiatives and invested €800k in player protection measures.
New South Wales’ measures for responsible gambling include a new website to allow self-exclusion from gambling venues. The University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic developed it and adds to the existing programme. Currently, bettors can voluntarily exclude from venues, but it’s only related to in-person exclusion. The website will get funds worth just over €100k.
“Just as technology is changing the way people gamble with the rise of online and app-based betting, it is also driving exciting new initiatives to support people to gamble responsibly,” New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling director Natalie Wright said. “By funding programs and research projects like these, we will further develop and underpin the evidence base for responsible gambling policy and programs.”
Credit card ban
More restrictions on gambling have been introduced recently in Australia. The Macquarie bank has banned gambling and lottery transactions on its credit cards. The changes will take effect on July 1, Financial Review reports.
The bank will block all transactions that involve gambling companies when the cardholder tries to pay. The bank reached this decision after growing regulatory concerns in regards to easy access to credit by problem gamblers. It remains unknown if other banks will follow, but some charge interest rates as high as 21% on these 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.
