The latest law to tackle gambling problem by the UK lawmakers that will come in effect from April, is to ban the use of credit cards to place bets. Not even a year back the lawmakers had slashed the maximum stake that can be placed on popular fixed-odds betting terminals and now this new move shows how adamant the authorities are to keep hold on the gambling behavior of the citizens.
Around 800,000 UK residents use credit cards to gamble on free bets and casinos, so banning the use of credit cards to bet online or offline will be a big step towards making gambling addiction problem free. Many gamblers use their credit cards to try and win back the money they have lost, and instead of paying back they end up in more debts. After this news was released, shares of betting companies like 888 Holdings, Flutter Entertainment and William Hill dropped in early trading, before it recovered by late morning.
Helen Whately, the culture minister, has said that they will not hesitate to take any further action necessary to protect people from gambling harm in an official statement. She also mentioned in it that they have clear evidence of harm gambling is causing to the gamblers and family as the gamblers are betting using the money they do not have.
In recent years, the government has been making amendments to keep a check on the gambling market which is quite huge in UK. Here, the thriving gambling industry employs more than 100,000 people. In the 2018-2019 financial year the industry made 14.4 billion pounds ($18.7 bn). The government has tightened the maximum a person can bet, added age restriction to gambling and the identity checks are now mandatory before betting.