Australia enforces credit card ban starting today

Australia has enforced the ban on credit card use for the purposes of gambling, six months after the government voted a federal ban on such means to fund gambling accounts.

These new laws are designed to streamline consumer protection and end a potentially pernicious practice that leads to higher numbers of problem gambling and gambling-related harm, lawmakers argue.

Credit card ban comes into effect in Australia

The ban on credit cards for gambling is a common practice to regulate the sector. From the United Kingdom to the United States, countries are taking a harder look on how to protect consumers.

Although the UK has passed a law prohibiting credit card use, efforts to achieve something similar in the US are only getting started. Australia, though, is one step ahead and has already enforced the law seeking to stem the tide of gambling addiction in the country.

Australians are some of the most avid gamblers worldwide, wagering down billions of dollars on various gambling activities. Although regulators will keep a vigilant watch, the onus will be on operators to ensure that their customers are not using credit-funded payment options to play.

Companies that fail to restrict credit card gambling face up to AU$234,750 in penalty payments, a rather small amount. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is also benefiting from the changes to the state law, as the watchdog will now have expanded powers to enforce various penalties.

ACMA recently issued another round of ISP blocks against offshore gambling sites that the regulator alleged were operating without the necessary license.

Australia is fully committed to protecting gamblers from harm

Australia has been spearheading some serious efforts to ensure that it maintains a healthy gambling industry where players are protected.

Such efforts have culminated with the launch of BetStop a national self-exclusion program designed to cover venues and different media, online and land-based, and give further teeth to the efforts to reduce gambling-related harm.

So far, 22,000 people have registered with the program as of the last publicly available report. There are additionally pilot tests of cashless payments that are designed to see and ensure that Australians are not overspending and that operators have a tighter control on AML and CTF rules.

Australia is also exploring options to introduce tighter rules on gambling advertisements.

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