Tabcorp Would Support Credit Cards Ban in Online Gambling
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The notable Australian wagering and lottery company Tabcorp just stated it wouldn’t oppose a possible ban on credit cards in online gambling. The company would support this potential ban as long as players could still buy lottery tickets in real life shops.
At the moment, the Australian Parliament is considering a new law that would ban players from using credit cards and e-wallets in online gambling.
With such a law, online gambling regulations would become akin to land-based gambling, most notably land-based casinos.
At the moment, most Australian states and territories already prohibit players from using credit cards to gamble in land-based casinos, TABs, RSLs, poker machines, and more. Online sports betting is the only legal form of gambling where credit cards are still not banned.
Although some banks have already started banning credit card uses for gambling, most major banks in Australia haven’t made any steps toward such prohibitions.
The Parliament is considering this law primarily due to the surge in the number of active online gamblers. Ever since the pandemic started, the percentage of people gambling online has grown from 62% to as much as 78%. The 16% rise proves to be a steep increase for such a short period.
Most land-based venues have closed their doors due to pandemic-induced restrictions, thus explaining this sizable rise.
For its part, Tabcorp understands the need for this ban as the increased number of online gamblers is a serious issue the government has to mediate.
Online gambling ventures like online casinos are effectively illegal in Australia, so it’s only natural for the government to want to lower the number of people gambling in these illegal operations to protect them from possible harm.
Many would argue that it’s also expected of Tabcorp to support this type of ban as foreign competitors have overshadowed the company since the start of the pandemic last year. Competitors like Sportsbet and Ladbrokes have been performing better than Tabcorp in recent months as Tabcorp had to keep many of its retail ventures closed for a long time.
The company is also concerned about the rise of online sports betting while still arguing that the most likely form of gambling to turn regular players into problem gamblers isn’t online sports betting but lottery.
Tabcorp is only asking for a sufficiently long transition period once the ban is implemented. The company would need enough time to adjust to a country-wide regulation.
