New Zealand Set to Ban Credit Cards for Online Betting

The gambling regulator in New Zealand is planning to slap a ban on the use of credit cards for online betting in the country. The move comes with the imminent arrival of the first private gambling operator for the New Zealand public and the government’s concerns regarding overspending.

The New Zealand regulator is one of a string of bodies around the world who are assessing the suitability of using credit cards to fund gambling activity.

New online casino to launch in New Zealand 

The proposal from the New Zealand regulator has been timed to coincide with the arrival of SKYCITY, the first private gambling operator that’s been allowed to open to the public in the country. The move hasn’t been without controversy, especially as SKYCITY are based the popular gambling nation of Malta, and not New Zealand itself.

The relaxing of the gambling laws will allow New Zealand players to access an online platform through SKYCITY, made available only to those who are physically present in New Zealand.

However, even when the deal was approved, the government raised concerns over existing safeguards and suggested these would need to be tightened to maintain protection.

With the TAB system and state-run lottery the only local betting previously on offer, the potential for overspending was virtually nil. By scrapping credit card spending, players would have to fund any bets with their own money rather than borrowed cash.

Worldwide ban forthcoming? 

New Zealand aren’t the first nation planning to bring in a ban on credit card play for casinos; Australian bank Macquarie has already prohibited use of its credit cards for gambling. Other bodies around the world are also considering the idea, including the UK Gambling Commission, but there are real concerns about the wider implications.

While no regulator believes that it’s appropriate to accrue debts on credit cards to gamble, questions have been raised about the alternatives. If access to credit is cut off, experts believe that players may turn to alternative measures to get their hands on the money, including high-risk, high-interest money-lending schemes.

The Director of the UK Gambling Commission, Paul Hope, agreed that action needs to be taken over the use of credit cards for betting activity describing borrowing money as a “known risk” for vulnerable players. However, there are no concrete plans announced just yet for the UK to follow the same route as New Zealand and commit to a total ban.