Bank Australia has announced it will no longer allow account holders to use its credit cards for gambling.
The consumer-owned banking group, Bank Australia, has announced plans to ban its account holders from using its credit cards to fund gambling activities.
This comes after the UK Gambling Commission imposed a blanket ban on using credit cards to fund gambling activities in the UK earlier this year.
Bank Australia’s credit card bank
The bank’s ban on using credit cards to gamble will come into effect from 1 December and will see the bank block any attempted transaction related to a gambling service or product.
Bank Australia customers will still be able to use the bank’s debit cards to fund gambling activities.
The bank said it had discussed the ban on using credit cards to gamble with the Australian Banking Association, and that several other members of the organisation were likely to implement similar measures.
According to the Bank, 87% of its customers support banning lending to businesses or gambling operators that earn money directly from poker machines or sports betting.
In its announcement, Bank Australia said: “Our research shows the majority of our customers believe credit cards should not be used for gambling, and as a customer-owned bank, our customers’ opinions are a big part of our decision making.
“Under our Responsible Banking Policy, we don’t lend money to the gambling industry including casinos, online gambling operators or businesses that derive revenue directly from poker machines or sports betting.
“Not authorising gambling on credit cards is an extension of our existing lending policy.”
This comes after the Australian Banking Association called on stakeholders to give feedback on potential restrictions on using credit cards to fund gambling.
Australian Banking Association’s consultation
In December last year, the Australian Banking Association began accepting feedback from stakeholders when it comes to funding online gambling with credit cards.
This consultation period came to a close on 4 March 2020 and looked at how banks could help to protect gamblers in the country.
Before the consultation period ended, National Australia Bank became the first bank in Australia to allow customers to block gambling transactions using its mobile banking app.
Retail bankings customers with either a NAB Visa Credit or NAB Visa Debit card can also restrict most gambling payments. This includes sports betting, casino games and online gambling transactions.
