Currently the use of credit cards in Australian Casinos and gambling establishments is not available to punters in the country. However the rules are not the same for online casino operators but that rule will be changed if Andrew Wallace the Queensland Member of Parliament Andrew Wallace follows through on efforts to have online casinos included in the ban.
The MP has recently revealed he has assurance from the biggest banks in Australia that they would back a plan to ban credit card use for online gambling products and services. MP Wallace says the high interest rates and a high chance of loss may result in serious gambling-related harm.
Wallace said he had meetings with representatives from the Australian Banking Association, the Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, and ANZ which all agreed action was required to do something about the use of credit cards for online gambling activity.
Wallace as a Federal Member of Parliament has proposed that a voluntary code of conduct should be created by the banking industry with some Australian banks such as Macquarie Bank and Suncorp, have already taken measures aimed at blocking the use of credit cards for gambling. Many of the larger banks in the nation claim however that it was nearly impossible for them to implement such significant changes. Wallace revealed that he was consulting with experts on the subject for possible legislative changes.
CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia, Brent Jackson, the organisation that represents the interests of gambling operators that include bet365, Neds, Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and others revealed recently the lobbying organisation did not back the proposed changes that would result in restrictions on the use of credit cards for online gambling. Jackson said the level of regulation imposed on online gambling services had made the sector safer in comparison to other forms of gambling. Adding the authorities should not take away a customer’s ability to decide how to pay for their gambling.
