UK Labour Party Wants to Ban Betting Using Credit Cards

This week it was revealed that the Labour Party in the UK wants to ban using credit cards to place bets within the country in an attempt to resolve a gambling addiction "epidemic".

The announcement is contained in a review of gambling regulations that the party conducted over the past year. There will be a series of different suggestions in the report, including the banning of using credit cards to bet. The other changes that the party is proposing haven't been announced yet, but will be revealed on Thursday.

It's estimated that roughly 10-20%, or £8.6 billion in casino deposits are made using credit cards, potentially causing issues for the companies as they'd be forced to promote other methods of deposit to players, who may be unaware of their existence.

Speaking to the Guardian Newspaper regarding the issue Labour Party member Tom Watson said, "Gambling addiction is this country's hidden epidemic, but there are too few protections to help people who are suffering or at risk. Debt-financed betting on credit cards is wrong. It allows people to bet more than they can afford and particularly affects gambling addicts. Labour will ban it."

The UK is estimated to have around 430,000 problem gamblers, and various reforms have been looked at to curb the numbers. Earlier this year, the government reduced the maximum bet on fixed odds betting terminals from £100 to £2.

Casino Listings News is following the story and will update readers as we learn of other proposals from the party.