A recent report from Queen Mary University of London sheds light on the pivotal role financial institutions can play in preventing significant financial harm arising from problem gambling. As more individuals seek help for gambling-related issues, the study emphasizes the unique position banks hold in identifying and mitigating gambling-related harms.

Financial Institutions Can Be the First Line of Defense

The research, conducted by the Multi-disciplinary Research Hub on the Prevention of Gambling Harms, reveals that approximately 44% of the UK population engaged in gambling in the year leading up to March 2023. While gambling can be a form of entertainment, it can escalate into a problem for some, resulting in severe financial and mental health issues and an increased risk of criminal involvement.

Some of the report’s highlights include innovative approaches financial institutions can adopt to support individuals affected by gambling-related harms. Dr. Janelle Jones, senior lecturer in Social Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, underscored the personal consequences of problem gambling, noting that financial institutions like banks had the perfect tools to enhance existing prevention and treatment measures.

Banks, with their unique position and access to transactional and behavioral data, can effectively identify and assist customers in recognizing and addressing their gambling-related issues early.

Dr. Janelle Jones, Queen Mary University of London senior lecturer in Social Psychology

According to the document, banks can implement measures like gambling blocks to identify and assist customers in recognizing early signs of gambling-related issues. Such institutions can conduct spending analyses to monitor transaction patterns and identify irregularities. Banks can then engage in active communication with customers, facilitating early intervention by addressing gambling-related issues.

Collaboration with Other Stakeholders Remains Paramount

The study emphasizes the importance of proactive measures, including banks actively signposting affected customers to specialized support agencies like Gamcare. These actions align not only with the new Consumer Duty imposed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) but also contribute to promoting customer well-being and financial stability during a turbulent time for the country’s gambling sector.

Banks are generally in a better position to spot potential issues and intervene, as they do not suffer conflicts of interest like gambling operators. However, Julia Hörnle, professor of Internet Law at Queen Mary University of London,  notes inconsistencies in the implementation of these measures across the banking industry, highlighting the need for industry-wide standards and regulatory guidelines. 

Clearer guidance and minimum standards as to what the new Consumer Duty means for protecting individuals experiencing serious gambling harms is necessary.

Julia Hörnle, Professor of Internet Law at Queen Mary University of London

The study concludes that fostering collaboration between banks and regulators, establishing enhanced standards, and involving people with experience of gambling-related harm in designing measures can lead to more effective prevention of unsustainable financial losses. By doing so, industry stakeholders can save lives and safeguard individuals from the detrimental effects of problem gambling.

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Gambling giant BetMGM has announced the opening of a new sportsbook in downtown Cincinnati. BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks is now ready to welcome its first guests.

Previously located at the Great American Ball Park, the sportsbook has now been moved to its permanent spot. The property boasts a 350-square-foot video wall and 42 TV screens, allowing sports fans to never miss a beat.

In addition to that, BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks has 3 in-person wagering windows, 14 self-service wagering kiosks, over 200 seats and an exclusive lounge for VIP patrons. The lounge has a private bar, high-definition screens and comfortable seats, turning betting into a truly luxurious experience.

The property is ready to welcome sports fans every day of the week.

The Sportsbook Will Add to the Vibrancy of Downtown Cincinnati

BetMGM’s chief revenue officer, Matt Prevost, said that the launch of the new sportsbook is an “integral part” of delivering the BetMGM experience to the Buckeyes. He revealed that his team was considering this property even before BetMGM’s official launch in Ohio.

We are thrilled to see this vision become a reality marking our next big next step in growing our relationship with the city of Cincinnati and the Reds.

Matt Prevost, CRO, BetMGM

For reference, BetMGM is currently serving as the official sports betting partner of the Cincinnati Reds. Because of that, Doug Healy, the franchise’s official chief financial officer, praised the launch of the BetMGM Sportsbook at The Banks.

Moving the BetMGM Sportsbook to The Banks places this best-in-class operator into the heart of our city’s sports and entertainment district. The popularity of the BetMGM brand will help draw patrons to The Banks and add to the vibrancy of our downtown.

Doug Healy, CFO, Cincinnati Reds

The sportsbook was also welcomed by The Banks’ marketing director and property manager, Tracy Schwegmann. She said that the betting venue would be a great addition to The Banks, helping it remain an attractive entertainment destination.

With the Bengals season starting and the Reds making a push to playoffs, The Banks continues to be the #1 entertainment destination in Cincinnati.

Tracy Schwegmann, marketing director & property manager, The Banks

Earlier this month, BetMGM also enhanced its betting app, just in time for the highly-anticipated National Football League season.

In other news, BetMGM recently formed a partnership with Play’n GO in Virginia, helping the provider expand its US reach.

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In the middle of an international crisis, Ukraine is trying to improve its gambling regulations and maintain the market secure and safe. New changes have been proposed by the government, and if they’re accepted, banks won’t be able to lend money to self-excluded customers.

The Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy proposed an amendment that will ensure banks are double checking if the individuals who are requesting lends aren’t self-excluded from betting, including both online gambling and various land-based casinos in the country. Those not on the list of self-excluded gamblers won’t be able to get credit from the bank. The amendment has not been approved yet.

Growing Rate

The Ukrainian Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) a few months ago announced that the number of self-excluded players is increasing, and that was concerning to all included parties in Ukraine.

From January to April this year, 245 people made it to this list. Compared to last year, when the entire list consisted of 315 people, and 2021 when there were only 195 people total, the number of 687 by the end of April was a massive increase.

This isn’t the first change of the gambling law in Ukraine in the recent period. Only last month, the new law regarding procedures required for organizations subjected to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risk was approved, and Ukrainian operators will have to pass more detailed inspections. Operators are warned about unscheduled inspections as well. The government’s action plan for 2023 included new KRAIL proposals, including a whole set of new regulations related to canceling and suspending licenses. One of the main points of discussion was whether the operators who are offering their services in occupied territories should continue working.

Future of KRAIL up in the air

KRAIL keeps working on new regulations, but its future is also uncertain. Mykhailo Fedorov, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, in May, submitted a proposal that can make KRAIL be replaced by the new regulatory body. Besides being a Deputy Prime Minister, Fedorov is also a Minister for Digital Transformation, and his main concern about the body is its failure when it comes to the late issuing of gambling licenses to operators.

KRAIL currently consists of a chairman and six members, and for a license to be approved, five members must be present at a meeting. When the war began, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a President, signed the major decree “On the introduction of martial law in Ukraine”, which led to some KRAIL members being mobilized into military service, which prevented KRAIL meetings from happening.

Source: “Ukraine Gambling Regulations Self Exclusion”. iGaming Business. August 7, 2023.

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Australia has no online casinos licensed in the country even though federal law allows states and territories to license and regulate internet slots and table games. However, home and mobile sports betting is licensed for punters there.

According to the country’s primary banking trade organization, there’s a big gap between financial protections online and on land so the Australian Banking Association (ABA) is asking the government to ban the use of credit cards at online sports betting sites.

The request comes decades after credit cards were banned for gambling at the land-based sportsbooks and casinos there. The licensed online gambling industry did not even exist at the time land-based credit card gambling was prohibited but is now worth an estimated A$50 billion a year.

Credit Cards Already Banned for Land-based Gambling

The ABA’s CEO, Anna Bligh asks: “Why should it be possible to do something in the virtual world that is prohibited in the real world? Every pub with poker machines, every TAB and every trackside bookie already implemented this 23 years ago.”

Bligh wonders if gambling, as a product “is this something we should be providing credit for given what’s happening to our customers?”

According to a report in the Guardian, banks are not on a moral crusade with the initiative but instead are looking out for their own business interests. That said, the association is quite aware of the damage undisciplined gamblers can do to themselves very quickly with potential long-term negative consequences.

“This is just a product that is not suitable for credit,” said Bligh. “You can accrue a very, very large amount of debt in an incredibly short period of time and have nothing to show for it.

“Banks have seen the harm that is being done and they are very conscious of their responsibility as lenders to ask [hard questions].

The initiative would tend to lend itself more to ideation than implementation due to the way merchant category codes work. The international merchant category code (MCC) that has been used for online gambling transactions since soon after the US changed its payment processor rules for online gambling with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) can also be assigned to transactions involving charities that fundraise by selling lottery tickets.

MCCs are 4-digit numbers listed under the international standard ISO 18245 which currently doesn’t have a code for lottery tickets sold primarily for charity fundraising. In order to create one, advocates would need to apply through ISO/TC 68, Technical Committee 68 on Banking, Securities, and other Financial Services in Geneva, Switzerland. However, changes to ISOs such as adding a new MCC, are usually not entertained for industries generating less than $10m in revenues.

The ABA doesn’t seem interested in paying for changes through the Geneva process, indicating that gambling operators should have to deal with and pay for compliance on their own after a grace period to give them time to adjust.

Licensed Operator Body Supports Ban

Responsible Wagering Australia is an independent body for wagering service providers based in Australia. RWA members include well-known names such as bet365, Betfair, Entain, PointsBet, Sportsbet, and Unibet.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The RWA and its members have been at the forefront of the work to implement a credit card ban – having led the discussions with the banking industry to determine the technical solutions, and delivered them to the government. We cannot speak for other non-member gambling companies.”

While offshore casinos can run credit card gambling transactions through a form of potential money laundering by assigning “the wrong code” to deposit transactions, a few Australian banks have already banned their branded credit cards from being used for gambling transactions, which presumably disallows the purchase of lottery tickets sold for charity fundraising with a credit card. Bank Australia, Bank of Queensland, Citibank, and Suncorp will no longer process MCC 7995.

MPs Sharkie and Wilkie are each preparing legislation to address the issue as well as to introduce suspicious transaction reports to authorities with Rebekha Sharkie’s private member bill focused on banning online credit card gambling and Andrew Wilkie’s bill focused on proceeds of crimes and suspicious transaction report obligations.

Sharkie also wants operators to be required to inform bettors of ongoing losses prior to accepting further bets.

Source: Australian banks urge Albanese government to ban use of credit cards for online gambling, The Guardian, March 26, 2023

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