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Consultation response

Changes to licence conditions and codes of practice on the use of credit cards for gambling

Consultation response January 2020

Published
14 January 2020

Last updated
30 November 2023 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. Executive Summary - Changes to licence conditions and codes of practice on the use of credit cards for gambling

Executive Summary - Changes to licence conditions and codes of practice on the use of credit cards for gambling

We exist to safeguard consumers and the wider public by ensuring that gambling is fair and safe. We are focusing on a number of priorities to achieve this as set out in our Strategy 2018-21 to:

  • protect the interests of consumers
  • raise standards in the gambling market
  • improve the way we regulate.

We have considered the responses to our consultation on gambling with credit cards which proposed changes to the Licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP). We consulted upon two separate options of either banning or restricting the use of credit cards.

We have decided to ban the use of credit cards for all forms of remote gambling (that is, betting, gaming and lotteries) and for non-remote betting. The following general licence condition will come into effect on 14 April 2020.

Addition of new licence condition 6.1.2 - use of credit cards

All non-remote general betting, pool betting and betting intermediary licences, and all remote licences (including ancillary remote betting and ancillary remote lottery licences) except gaming machine technical, gambling software and host licences.

1 Licensees must not accept payment for gambling by credit card. This includes payments to the licensee made by credit card through a money service business.

The regulatory framework for gambling already prevents non-remote casino, bingo, adult gaming centre and family entertainment centre operators from accepting payments by credit card. No gaming machine can be configured to accept payment by credit card. The new change to LCCP will therefore mean that holders of the following types of operating licence will also no longer be able to accept payment by credit card, in addition to those non-remote licences already described.

Remote operating licences

  • Casino
  • Bingo
  • General betting (real events)
  • General betting (virtual events)
  • General betting (limited)
  • Pool betting
  • Betting intermediary
  • External Lottery Manager
  • Society Lottery

Non-remote operating licences

  • General betting (limited)
  • General betting (standard)
  • Pool betting
  • Betting intermediary

Next steps

The new general licence condition introducing a ban on gambling with credit cards will come into effect on 14 April 2020.

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Introduction - Changes to licence conditions and codes of practice on the use of credit cards for gambling
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