UK credit card ban on gambling

What the UK credit card ban says

The rule is short. LCCP condition 6.1.2 (opens in a new tab) says licensees must not accept payment for gambling by credit card, and that includes credit card payments made through a money service business. In plain terms: a casino, bookmaker or bingo site licensed in Great Britain can't take your stake from a credit card, and it can't take it indirectly either, through a payment service that has itself been funded by one.

The Commission's consumer page on gambling using a credit card (opens in a new tab) spells out the e-wallet point. A business accepting payment from an e-wallet such as PayPal or Skrill should make sure the money was not loaded from a credit card. So the ban follows the money, not just the method you pick at the cashier. It is one of the payment rules in our hub of UK casino bonus rules, and it shapes which deposits can count towards an offer.

Credit card ban timeline

The Commission announced the ban on 14 January 2020 in a release titled gambling on credit cards to be banned from April 2020 (opens in a new tab). Operators had three months to change their cashiers, and the rule took effect on 14 April 2020.

Why credit cards were banned for gambling

The concern was gambling with borrowed money. A credit card lets someone keep playing after their own funds have run out, and a debt that grows with interest makes losses harder to recover from. Research cited by the Commission found that 22% of online gamblers using credit cards were problem gamblers, and UK Finance estimated that around 800,000 people were gambling on credit cards in 2018.

There is also the cost of borrowing to consider. A £100 deposit on a credit card that isn't cleared in full becomes £100 plus interest, while the casino's house edge applies to the full £100 of stakes either way. A bonus can't offset that: a 10x wagering requirement on a £50 bonus means £500 of bets, which at a 4% house edge costs about £20 on average, before any interest on a card balance. Our page on the house edge explains the average-cost maths.

The law behind the ban: debit versus credit

The Gambling Act 2005 draws the line between the two kinds of card. Section 81 of the Act (opens in a new tab), headed 'credit and inducements', lets licence conditions regulate credit and defines a debit card payment as one taken from a bank account using a card that is not a credit-token under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Full, non-post-dated debit card payments are excluded from its definition of credit, which is why debit cards remain acceptable.

The online ban itself rests on the licence condition, LCCP 6.1.2, rather than on a section of the Act. Section 81(2) separately bars non-remote casino and bingo operators from giving or facilitating credit. For readers who want the bigger legal picture, our page on the Gambling Act 2005 explains how the Act and the licence conditions fit together, and the LCCP explainer covers the conditions themselves.

E-wallets, Apple Pay and the credit card ban

E-wallets were the obvious gap, so the Commission closed it. If you top up a PayPal or Skrill balance from a credit card and then send that money to a casino, the operator should not accept it. How each wallet enforces this varies, but the obligation sits with the gambling business. Our guide to e-wallet casino bonuses covers how wallets are treated by bonus terms, which is a separate question.

Mobile wallets work on the card you load into them. A debit card in Apple Pay or Google Pay is still a debit card payment; a credit card saved in the same wallet is still a credit card, and in practice a licensed casino's cashier should decline it. Ladbrokes' help centre notes, for instance, that Google Pay withdrawals are paid back to the underlying card. If your phone wallet holds both, choose the debit card when depositing. Our Apple Pay casino bonus and Google Pay casino bonus pages explain how each wallet treats offers.

How the credit card ban affects casino bonuses

For bonus hunters the main effect is simple: a credit card deposit isn't possible, so it can never qualify. The more common trap is the second layer of rules, the payment exclusions in each offer's terms. Many welcome offers exclude e-wallets and prepaid cards for their own reasons, so a perfectly legal deposit can still miss the offer. Our guide to how payment exclusions work explains why casinos do this.

Take our partners as examples. Coral's offer excludes Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards, so check the terms for which debit cards qualify. Ladbrokes' offer excludes prepaid cards, PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill and Moneybookers. Both help centres say credit cards aren't accepted, and both apply a UK limit of three active payment methods in a rolling 30 days. That leaves a debit card as the method most likely to count, though you should always read the current offer terms.

1. Open the offer's terms and find the list of excluded payment methods.
2. Choose a debit card or another method the terms don't exclude.
3. If you use Apple Pay or Google Pay, make sure the debit card, not a credit card, is selected.
4. Make the qualifying deposit and complete any qualifying bet the offer requires.
5. Check that the bonus or spins appear before you start playing.

Bank gambling blocks: an extra layer of control

The ban protects you from borrowing to gamble at licensed sites, but many banks go further. The Commission keeps a list of banks offering gambling transaction blocks (opens in a new tab), including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Monzo, NatWest, RBS, Santander and Starling. HSBC says gambling payments on its credit cards are blocked automatically, and its debit card restriction covers digital wallets too.

Blocks differ in what they catch and how quickly they can be switched off. Lloyds' freeze, for example, doesn't cover direct debits or bank transfers, while HSBC keeps declining gambling payments for three days after the block is turned off. If you want a block, check your bank's own help page. Our pages on Monzo and Starling cover two popular app banks.

What the credit card ban doesn't cover

• Shop lottery products. Scratchcards and lottery tickets bought in person from a shop that sells other goods are the stated exception.
• Overdrafts and loans. The Commission's pages on the ban don't address overdrafts, so we don't state a position either way. Borrowing of any kind to gamble carries the same risks.
• Unlicensed sites. Offshore casinos that take credit cards are outside the UK system, with none of its protections. Our guide to offshore casino bonus risks explains what you would give up.
• Northern Ireland. Commission rules cover Great Britain, so NI players should not assume the same protections apply.

If gambling debt is a worry

If you have been gambling with borrowed money, or feel tempted to, help is free and confidential. The National Gambling Helpline is open 24/7 on 0808 8020 133, run by GamCare. You can block gambling payments through your bank, self-exclude from all UK-licensed sites through GAMSTOP, and set deposit limits at any operator. Our safer gambling page lists these services, and the deposit limit guide explains how limits work.

The credit card ban and our partner casino offers

None of our partners accepts credit cards, and all three offers below need a deposit by a method the terms allow. They are for new customers aged 18+, and terms apply.

• Coral Casino: deposit (certain types excluded) and bet £10+ on slots for 100 free spins at 10p, worth £10. Accept within 48 hours, use within 7 days, no wagering on free spin winnings. Runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027. See Coral payment methods.
• Ladbrokes Casino: deposit and spend £10+ on slots for 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500 spins worth up to £50. Claim by 23:59 daily, valid 7 days, no wagering. See Ladbrokes payment methods.
• PlayOJO: 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p (£8) with a first deposit of £10 or more. No wagering, winnings paid as cash. Excludes Northern Ireland. PlayOJO's help page names debit cards, Payz, Apple Pay and Trustly; check the cashier for the full list.

Coral and Ladbrokes are both run by LC International Limited, so one person may not be able to open new accounts at both; read the terms. Gambling is entertainment that costs money, and losses are likely over time.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: set a budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.