Banning Credit Card Gambling – What Do the Punters Say?
Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
The iGaming market undoubtedly represents big business in the UK, having generated a total GGY of £5.6 billion in the year ending September 2018. This represented solid growth of 2.9% in the six months from April of the same year, as online gambling expanded to account for 39% of the overall industry.
However, last year saw some concerns raised about the growing reliance of borrowed capital amongst online players, with credit card transactions accounting for approximately 20% wagered in the UK.
With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that both the government and the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is proposing to ban the use of credit cards at online casinos and sports betting sites. But what do punters think of this change, and is it ultimately likely to pass into law?
Polling the Public – Do Punters Want to See a Ban on Credit Cards?
Whilst there’s overwhelming support amongst MPs, regulators and responsible gambling groups for the banning of credit card use, a recent poll conducted by Golden Casino News has strived to determine whether punters in the UK would be happy with such a measure?
The surprising answer is yes, with an informed study that canvassed the opinion of 2,000 UK adults revealing that the vast majority of respondents would be in favour of banning online credit cards.
More specifically, a surprising 55.65% of respondents strongly agreed with the proposal to ban all online gambling deposits being made with credit cards, with a further 21.05% suggesting that they ‘somewhat’ agreed with this measure.
In total, this means that a whopping 76.6% of the respondents are in favour of banning credit cards for gambling purposes to one degree or another, both for the purposes of online casino gambling and virtual sports betting.
If we delve beyond these headline numbers, however, we begin to see that those aged between 35 and 44 are amongst the most opposed to the ban.
More specifically, 10.94% of the respondents in this demographic said that they would not ban credit card usage, whilst respondents aged between 25 and 34 also provided relatively low levels of support for the proposal. Conversely, 80% of the respondents aged over 55 said that they would agree or strongly agree with the proposed limitation, with this overwhelming response having a huge impact on the final result. These results are particularly interesting, particularly with players aged between 25 and 44 key drivers of the iGaming market in the UK. Respondents within this demographic are therefore likely to wager regularly using credit cards, which partially explains their opposition to the ban. With people aged 55 or over far less likely to wager online or using a credit card, it should also come as no surprise that this demographic were more open to considering the merits of a widespread ban in the UK.
Is There a Regional Split in the Numbers?
At this stage, it’s undeniably clear that there’s widespread support for a credit card ban in relation to gambling online, although this dwindles markedly when talking to players who are most active in the iGaming marketplace. But is there an obvious geographical split when reviewing the results of the survey? The short answer is yes, with this reflecting the outlook of consumers in specific regions in addition to the impact of the wider economic climate. In the North East region of England, for example, a staggering and disproportionate 64.56% of respondents mentioned that they strongly agreed with the prohibition. This was one of the most stark and resounding findings of the survey, whilst it’s also fair to say that support for the credit card ban became increasingly pronounced the further north you headed. If we head south, however, it becomes clear that people are far more likely to support the practice of gambling using credit cards. This attitude is most pronounced in the West Midlands, which is home to the UK’s so-called ‘Second City’ Birmingham. Here, a relatively hefty 5.52% of respondents strongly disagreed with the proposed ban, with similar findings recorded in Londin and the South East. There are a couple of key takeaways here; with the first being that respondents in more affluent areas further south in the UK are more likely to oppose a ban on using credit cards when wagering online. Conversely, those who live in the north are keen on the notion of banning credit card usage, with these results indicative of respondents’ precise socioeconomic circumstances and their approach to spending. Secondly, we can surmise that respondents who live in major cities are more inclined to support the use of credit cards online, including bustling locations such as Birmingham, London, Manchester and Liverpool. These cities tend to report the highest national wages and standards of living, creating higher levels of disposable income and a decidedly more relaxed attitude towards the use of credit. As a result, respondents from these locations are more willing to spend money on their credit cards (even through iGaming platforms), as they’re able to comfortably repay this despite the likely impact of interest rates.
The Last Word
Whilst this survey reveals a number of fascinating findings, perhaps the most surprising is that there’s an overwhelming majority of UK adults who would support a credit ban throughout the iGaming industry. Even allowing for the demographic and regional variances, more than 75% of respondents confirmed that they were decisively in favour of the UKGC’s proposed regulatory changes. What’s more, well over 50% of respondents revealed that they were strongly in favour of a credit card ban, reaffirming that neither the government or the regulator should meet with much opposition if they proceed to carry out the measure throughout the industry. Arguably, this type of outlook reflects the wider economic climate in the UK, although it’s also indicative of the combined efforts of regulators and operators to promote responsible gambling in the UK. The number of respondents may also have included people who have encountered debt as a result of gambling with their credit cards, who are keen to prevent others from experiencing the same issues.