Report: Online Gambling May Cost You A Chance At A Mortgage

According to a report by Irish newspaper "The Irish Examiner" online gamblers may have a higher risk of being declined a mortgage by Irish banks.

The report claims that mortgage lenders are looking through transactions that potential borrowers have on their accounts and are determining loan eligibility based off of those transactions. The article states that not only does online gambling raise a red flag to lenders, but also tuition fees, television subscriptions, and mobile phone bills.

The article also quoted Trevor Grant, Chief Executive of mortgage debt advisory firm Negotiate as saying, "When a lender assesses an application for reduced mortgage repayments due to financial difficulty, the customer is required to submit a detailed application, often including current account and credit-card statements. Lenders will form a view that if the customer is struggling to pay their mortgage they should be tightening their belts, and they consider gambling, for example, as a non-essential activity and therefore should be one of the first social indulgences to be cut."

A spokesman for the Irish Banking Federation advised borrowers who are looking to restructure a mortgage to look after their expenses carefully as they prepare for discussions with their lenders regarding a loan.