Usually, when you arrive at our site, you will be hoping to find a selection of our top recommended credit card betting sites. Unfortunately, this is not the case with this article, as since April 2020 the UKGC has banned credit card gambling. Since this is an official law released by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission(UKGC) all betting platforms that hold licenses with this regulatory body must adhere to their rules.
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We never want to put the safety of your personal details at risk, so any online betting sites you find recommended by us are all regulated by the UKGC, meaning they DO NOT accept credit card deposits; this includes credit card withdrawals too.
We expect you will come across various betting platforms that still accept credit card payments, despite the newly implemented law. Still, we can guarantee that the UKGC will not license these. Although the UKGC may not regulate sites, they may still offer promising platforms where you can enjoy a range of high-quality games, promotions and sports betting odds.
Since the 14th of April 2020, the use of credit cards within online gambling has been banned completely in the United Kingdom. This decision was made by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission after their team of experts conducted their very own review of online gambling. In addition, the government’s ‘Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures’ was also taken into account by the UKGC.
This consultation period took place between August and November 2019, before the UKGC finally announced their decision to ban the use of credit cards in online betting in January 2020.
This law means that credit cards can not be used at any online gambling site, whether at online sports betting sites, online casinos or anything in between.
After conducting intense research on using credit cards for online betting, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission realise that the use of credit cards would need to be stopped entirely. Below, we look at all the reasons why the UKGC decided to ban the use of credit cards in online betting.
The main and most concerning reason that helped the UKGC come to this decision arose during their research, where they found that around 22% of the 800,000 that use credit cards to gamble online were classed as problem gamblers. Now, with there being over 10 million people that online gamble, these figures may seem small. But, with almost a quarter of credit card bettors admitting they have some form of gambling problem… the problem could not be ignored.
The UKGC attained these figures by running various surveys, which is where they found that many of those surveyed had admitted to suffering some form of gambling harm or even building up thousands of pounds of debt.
These enormous debts were accumulating because of how credit cards work. Unlike other betting payment options, credit cards complete payments with a cash advance. This means that the credit card company is loaning the money to the customer for a brief time and then will expect it to be paid back.
However, the cost that the customer will entail is hidden fees and interest rates, which can quickly become very overwhelming. From this factor alone, you can see why the UKGC stopped all credit card gambling websites from accepting credit card payments.
With almost a quarter of credit card users is deemed ‘problem gamblers’, we can accept that the use of credit cards in online gambling will always lead to a risk of harm to consumers. Although plenty of UK residents use credit cards to gamble responsibly, in fact, a total of 78%, the UKGC had to play things safe and take the safety of these problem gamblers into their own hands.
To ensure that all problem gamblers get the help they require to ‘Stop when the fun stops’, schemes like GAMSTOP have been put in place to help. All online gambling operators regulated by the UKGC are required to be part of the GAMSTOP scheme, which is a nationwide addiction strategy. This includes both online bookmakers and online casinos.
The entire purpose of GAMSTOP is to stop bettors/gamers who have a gambling addiction from gambling by either restricting their ability to gamble or completely banning them for a set period. You can check your restriction status from the GAMSTOP website. If GAMSTOP is something you could benefit from, then head to their site today – gamstop.co.uk – and register an account.
Although credit cards may have been an incredibly convenient way of funding your gambling activities, there remain several equally convenient ways of making both deposits and withdrawals into your betting accounts. Below, we look at some of the best alternative payment methods that are available right now.
Although credit cards may be banned for gambling online, their very close relative debit cards remain a completely viable payment option.
Visa, Mastercard and Maestro are three of the most popular debit card options you will find available as UK customers, and you notice that these three options are also credit card betting providers. All three options are accepted at most UK online betting sites. Accounts set-up with either of these three options is considered ‘personal accounts’ where customers have registered accounts with the respective bank.
Punters can then fund their bets using whatever funds they have in their personal accounts. Setting up a bank account is not the simplest of processes as you will need to arrange meetings with your local financial institutions(Banks). Still, you probably already have a bank account set up as they are a requirement in day-to-day life. Debit cards offer incredibly safe methods of making payments thanks to the state of the art encryption software.
Debit card payments work similarly to credit card transactions, as money is being transferred from a bank account to your betting account. However, in one instance, you actually own the money, while in the other, you do not. When using credit cards to deposit funds you do not have, this was called a cash advance and was one of the main reasons for all the problems that credit card gambling sites were creating.
One that I’m sure you have all heard of goes by the name PayPal. PayPal is an e-wallet launched way back in 1998, but it is not just any old e-wallet as it sits as the leading online payment system currently available. Safety and security are two factors you do not have to worry about with PayPal, thanks to them being fully licensed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Also, you will find some of the best encryption software in place as a PayPal customer. Customers can quickly register an account with PayPal, with the process taking just a couple of minutes to complete and from there, they can begin adding bank accounts, so they have access to funds.
Skrill is another e-wallet owned by the Paysafe Group, which originally entered the scene in 2001 under the name Moneybookers. Like PayPal, Skrill is properly regulated and licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority, so there is no need to question this platform’s security. Despite being in PayPal’s shadow, Trustly or Skrill is very popular amongst punters and is recognised by most UK bookies. To help promote their brand, Skrill has worked with Italian football giants, AC Milan representing them as their official payment partner.
The most popular prepaid card available to UK customers is Paysafecard, which has been around since 2000. There is no need for registering an account with Paysafecard, as customers can instead buy whichever card they want. For example, Paysafecard’s come in denominations of £10, £25, £50, £75 and £100. A 16-digit pin code is used to verify payments, and the only fees you will incur come when making refunds or when failing to use the funds within 12 months of purchasing.
Boku is probably the most preferred payment method available when it comes to pay-by-phone methods. Founded in 2009, Boku has been providing punters with a convenient and safe payment method of transaction. Boku can only be used to make deposits, and there is a maximum deposit amount set at £30. Customers pay for these deposits by either loading funds onto their pay as you go tariff or via their phone contract. The verification of payments is achieved by a one of code being sent to the mobile phone.
Responsible gambling is a term you will find used a lot when you are in the industry of online gambling, and it is one that we will always stand by. We only recommend platforms licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. This way, we know that you are properly looked after in terms of your security and personal protection.
There are plenty of ways to make sure you are gambling responsibly without the help of the UKGC and GAMSTOP – and this is how. First, you can make the most of the betting sites deposit limits feature to control your spending. Set a deposit limit that you want to stick to monthly or weekly, and the site will not let you deposit any more than the set amount. You can also find that many betting sites offer time outs that temporarily ban customers from their platform, so they have no means of betting with them for a set period of time. Finally, of course, you can use GAMSTOP to help prevent you from gambling on a much larger basis, as they can put in place gambling restrictions on all UKGC registered platforms.
Responsible gambling can easily be attained if you seek the right advice and make the most of the features that are provided by platforms.
