Australian Parliament Okays Ban on Credit Card Use for Online Gambling

The Australian legislature has rubber-stamped a measure to prohibit using credit cards for online gambling activities conducted within its borders. This follows the passage of the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) 2023 bill, imposing a blanket ban on using credit cards, credit card-related products, and even digital currencies for online gambling. The bill was introduced in the legislature in September by the Australian federal government and is set to bring a fundamental shift in the nation’s online gambling operations.

Australia’s minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, welcomed the move by commenting:

The Albanese government is committed to ensuring that gambling takes place within a robust legislative framework with strong consumer protections, and this ban is helping us to achieve just that…The principle here is simple: Australians should not be gambling with money they do not have. This legislation delivers on the commitment we made in April this year to ban the use of credit cards for online wagering.

Further, the Australian Banking Association (ABA) lauded the legislature, saying that the new regulation would help players break the rampant debt cycle in the online gambling industry worldwide. ABA’s chief executive, Anna Bligh, remarked:

These new laws will overturn the absurd reality of someone not being able to use a credit card at the betting counter at a TAB outlet or pub- but still being able to sit and gamble on abetting app using a credit card… Using a credit card for gambling can lead very quickly to a serious debt trap for consumers, and this debt cycle can be extremely difficult to break. Online gambling is a fast-growing form of gambling, so it’s imperative that this loophole is finally being closed. The federal government is to be strongly congratulated for acting on this important issue.

Responsible Wagering Australia, whose members include Bet365, Ladbrokes, and Sportsbet, just to mention a few, also supports this ban. The organization’s CEO, Kai Cantwell, pointed out that Australians must only wager with the money that they have, and this ban goes a long way toward ensuring that this will be the case right away. He said:

This is an important measure to protect consumers and their loved ones, making it easier for people to stay in control of their own gambling behavior… It will complement the existing offering of safer gambling account management tools by RWA members to customers to help them stay in control of their betting.

The RWA Hits Out at the Exclusion of Some Forms of Gambling in the Ban

Although Mr. Cantwell heaped much praise on the legislature for the passage of the bill, he also expressed disappointment at the lack of inclusion of other forms of gambling, such as lotteries and keno. That’s because lotteries are one of the most prevalent forms of gambling for Australians in low socio-economic communities. Mr. Cantwell had statistics to back up his claims, stating:

The latest Australian Gambling statistics show that Australians lost more than A$3.2 billion in lotteries and keno in 2020-21. With the introduction of online keno in Victoria, keno losses increased more than 400 percent from 2021-22 to 2022-23.

Mr. Cantwell also expressed concerns that lotteries are excluded from the national self-exclusion register, BetStop. According to him, this leaves Australians who have self-excluded from gambling vulnerable, as they’ll be able to bet up to A$10,000 at a time in lotteries across the country. Additionally, the overriding message from the RWA was that this ban should ideally encompass all forms of gambling:

To effectively reduce gambling harm, consumer protection measures must exist across all forms of gambling; otherwise, those at risk of harm will just move from one form of gambling to another less regulated type.

 Cantwell concluded by reaffirming the RWA’s commitment to working hand in hand with the federal government to develop the frameworks of this ban. He maintained that the RWA will continue supporting the initiative wholeheartedly as it nears its implementation stage.

Key Provisions of the Bill

When the bill was introduced in the lower house in September, the federal government argued that there was a need for such a regulation to curb the increased problem gambling in the country. Besides the ban, operators who fail to enforce the rule will be liable to hefty fines worth up to A$234,750 (£122,475/ €143,003/ US$154,282). 

Upon presentation before the lower house, the bill quickly garnered majority support, smoothly sailing through with the backing of two of Australia’s most prominent political factions, Liberal and Labor. In addition to the ban on credit cards and digital currencies for online gambling, this bill also grants more power to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). This body will also be tasked with ensuring that operators abide by the new measures to the letter and issue penalties on non-compliant operators.

The government has allowed a six-month transition period to give operators, payment providers, customers, and all the general stakeholders time to adjust to the new regulations. When the bill receives royal assent, the regulatory changes in question will come into effect immediately. 

Australia’s minister for social services, Amanda Rishworth, remarked:

All measures under the National Consumer Protection Framework are now in place as a result of the focused action our government has taken. Since being elected, we have mandated customer pre-verification to complement BetStop, monthly activity statements, compulsory staff training, and new evidence-based taglines that replace ‘gamble responsibly’ with stronger messages about gambling harms.