After Australia’s ban on bank cards for on-line playing, the coverage proved efficient — simply not in decreasing gambling-related hurt.
With bank cards banned to be used in on-line playing for over a 12 months now, since June 2024, new analysis exhibits that, whereas it made playing utilizing debt extra inconvenient, it didn’t deter these most negatively affected by playing. The Australian authorities hoped that the ban would stop individuals borrowing to assist playing habits, thereby decreasing playing harms.
Nevertheless, research from the e61 Institute exhibits that bank cards made up solely a small share of on-line sports activities playing earlier than the ban was in place, with simply 2% of bank card accounts getting used for playing in the beginning of 2024.
Bank cards performed a small position in on-line sports activities playing earlier than the ban.
By early 2024, lower than 2% of bank cards have been used for playing – doubtless as a result of playing transactions have been handled as money advances, with greater charges and charges of curiosity. 2/7 pic.twitter.com/VaqXEByzt5
— e61 Institute (@E61Institute) December 2, 2025
What’s extra, those that did gamble with a bank card sometimes had a stronger monetary place than different customers, typically having greater incomes and more money available. This meant that, regardless of utilizing debt to gamble, they have been doubtless not financially in danger on account of on-line playing.
Bank card customers’ playing habits did change
Nonetheless, the coverage did reach decreasing on-line playing for this group, with on-line playing expenditure falling by round AUD $50 ($33) per fortnight. Round a 3rd of the affected group of bank card customers stopped playing altogether, or not less than had no recorded playing transactions within the six weeks following the ban.
The ban decreased on-line sports activities playing for this group. Playing expenditure fell by about $50 per fortnight, pushed by a 15% fall within the likelihood of playing every fortnight.
One-third of the affected group stopped playing altogether within the 6 weeks following the ban. 4/7 pic.twitter.com/oozmdTGZnb
— e61 Institute (@E61Institute) December 2, 2025
“These results mirror inconvenience somewhat than credit score constraints,” defined authors Aditya Maitra and Matthew Maltman. “Declines in participation have been largest for small bets (spending lower than $10 per week) and weren’t correlated with monetary outcomes similar to liquidity constraints or debt holding.”
Whereas the info exhibits {that a} coverage change definitely influenced playing conduct, the main target of this coverage doesn’t appear to have focused these most vulnerable to gambling-related hurt. The Institute famous that different insurance policies would doubtless be simpler, similar to concentrating on poker machines the place “harms seem like extra concentrated”.
Different insurance policies presently up for debate in Australia to cut back gambling-related hurt embrace improving age verification processes to protect young people and social pressure to reduce gambling ads.
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