Big Debate: Will Australia’s ban on credit cards and crypto help to reduce gambling-related harm?

YES

Tom Rundle, Dabble CEO

As part of my first job in wagering, I was taking bets over the phone on a Saturday from customers who were betting using a line of credit. The first question they were asked when opening the account was what an ­appropriate credit limit would be.

This was not an unusual setup, since it was common for bookmakers at racetracks to offer credit to customers to make it easier to settle without carrying around wads of cash. Moving from betting with credit at the track to the same way over the phone, and then to the internet, was logical.

A few years later, some of the biggest operators pushed the boundary by ­offering micro-credit lines for a few ­hundred bucks to any online ­account holder who had run out of money.

What we ended up with was the ­business of bookmaking also being the business of debt collection. We’d gone from a convenient way to pay for your Saturday pastime to a way for at-risk punters to get themselves into financial trouble.

All of this led to a decision by state ministers in 2017 to ban the offering of lines of credit, which came into force very quickly. At the same meeting, the move towards a national self-exclusion register was also agreed, which took another six years to implement.

We have a high-speed banking rail that now enables anyone to pay for a bet and get their winnings in close to real time without needing credit. We have experienced the reality of credit betting creating unnecessary risks for some consumers.

Using the banking system to assist sustainable gambling with relatively little effort has almost no downside for operators. It also supports our sustainable betting commitment and promotes financial wellbeing, especially for younger punters who enjoy a dabble.

On the separate question of ­cryptocurrency, in Australia it is not seen as a financial product and Dabble doesn’t currently operate in a crypto ­environment, so I can’t have a position either way.

NO

Jamie Nettleton, partner at Addisons

The findings of the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) are the basis for the prohibitions in the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023, which came into force on 11 June 2024. These ­prohibit the use of credit cards and digital currency in connection with payment for an online wagering service.

According to the PJC, there is clear evidence that substantial harm could result from the ability to gamble online using credit. Further, the PJC reached a view that a considerable number of Australians experienced gambling-related harm from online wagering and this harm extends beyond the individual gambler to family, friends and the broader community.

What is not clear is the effectiveness of these prohibitions and whether they will result in the reduction of gambling-related harm. There is no doubt that the removal of the facility for Australians to gamble using credit cards will eliminate some of the means that gave rise to a clear risk of gambling-related harm.

However, it is also clear Australia’s ban will not eliminate the availability of credit that could be used by Australians wishing to engage in gambling activity. From a theoretical standpoint, the current ban applies only to prohibit the use of credit cards and digital ­currency for wagering services provided by ­Australia-licensed operators.

The ban does not apply to licensed online lotteries or ­unlicensed gambling services. What is clear, is that offshore online gambling services will continue to be accessible to Australian customers.

That these sites continue to be targeted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority demonstrates that they continue to be accessible to Australians. Many of these sites provide credit or allow participation using cryptocurrency.

Accordingly, they will be available to those players who are at greatest risk and are most likely to suffer harm by betting using the services of overseas online ­gambling sites.