Australia’s banking sector has urged the Federal Government to suspend the use of credit cards to fund online sports betting transactions under the claims that the multi-billion-dollar industry lacks some fundamental regulation that was implemented in licensed venues across the country many years ago.
Anna Blight, the chief executive officer of the Australian Banking Association, was one of the cabinet ministers in the Queensland Government in the early 2000s. At the time, local states and territories suspended the use of credit cards for gambling transactions. However, online gambling was still not that popular, so the legislation was never altered to address credit card use in digital gambling transactions that are regulated by the Federal Government.
In the early 2000s, the online gambling sector was practically non-existent, while it is currently estimated at approximately AU$50 billion a year.
The Australian Banking Association’s boss criticised the practice, saying that credit cards should not be available for funding online gambling transactions. Ms Blight further explained that local banks were not pursuing an online gambling ban as a moral issue but were instead determined to keep their business interests protected.
According to Australian banking sector officials, online gambling is simply not a product suitable for funding through credit cards, as it could result in a massive amount of debt being accumulated by customers in an extremely short period of time. The body representing the local banking sector now sees the harm that has been inflicted on individuals, families, and communities across the country, with banks getting more and more conscious of their responsibility as lenders to protect the best interests of their clients.
Implementation of Blanket Ban on Credit Card Transactions in Online Gambling Would Require Special International Agreement
In August 2021, the independent peak body for local wagering service providers – Responsible Wagering Australia – revealed its decision to start developing special solutions aimed at eliminating the use of credit cards for online sports betting transactions without creating what it described as “unintended consequences”.
Market experts have explained that the implementation of a blanket ban could not be easy. When banking institutions suspend certain financial products, they look for a merchant code that is linked to each transaction. The code for online gambling transactions, however, is also used by charity organisations that sell lottery tickets for various fundraising initiatives, so banning the code for online gambling would also ban such bodies from being able to raise money to fund different charities. Changing the code to focus on gambling only, on the other hand, would require an international agreement to be made.
A spokesperson for the independent peak body revealed that Responsible Wagering Australia and its members have been closely engaged with the efforts linked to the proposed implementation of a credit card ban in the country, as it had headed the discussions with the local banking sector to determine the technical solutions necessary in order to such a ban to take place.
Some Australian lenders, including Bank of Australia, Bank of Queensland, Suncorp, and Citibank, have already taken action and suspended their clients for using their credit cards for gambling transactions. According to the Australian Banking Association, gambling operators should be required to conduct and pay for their own compliance measures, after being provided with a reasonable period to make the necessary adjustments.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, Rebekha Sharkie, an independent Member of Parliament (MP), has also called for a nationwide ban on credit card transactions for gambling. She is expected to roll out a private member’s bill on the matter by the end of the week. She noted that technology development allowed people to access online gambling services at any time and place in relative privacy, and using credit to pay for such services could take a very long time to pay off. Ms Sharkie’s bill would also seek for gambling operators to notify their users about their losses before being allowed to place more wagers – a move that would make it easier for both gamblers and companies to track expenditures.
- Author
Daniel Williams
