The UK gambling credit card ban

What the gambling credit card ban says

The ban sits in the Gambling Commission's Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice as condition 6.1.2. In plain terms, a licensee must not accept payment for gambling by credit card, and that includes a credit card payment made through a money service business. You can read the condition itself on the Commission's LCCP 6.1.2 page (opens in a new tab).

Because it's a licence condition, it binds the operator, not you. Every company that holds a Commission licence to offer gambling to people in Great Britain has to follow it, which covers every app in our UK rules for casino apps section and every brand we review.

The Commission's consumer guide to gambling with a credit card (opens in a new tab) makes the same points in everyday language, including the e-wallet angle and the shop lottery exception.

Why the UK banned gambling on credit cards

When the Commission announced the gambling credit card ban on 14 January 2020, it pointed to two numbers. UK Finance estimated that about 800,000 people gambled using credit cards in 2018, and research cited by the Commission found that 22% of online gamblers who used credit cards were problem gamblers.

The logic is simple. Gambling is entertainment that costs money, and the house edge means losses are the likely result over time. Paying for that with borrowed money adds interest and fees on top of any loss, and it makes it easier to spend money you don't have.

The ban is one of several money rules that have followed. Later changes such as financial vulnerability checks and the prompt to set a deposit limit before your first deposit build on the same idea: the cashier is where harm can be slowed down. Our page on financial risk checks explains the newest of these.

Credit cards, e-wallets and Apple Pay in casino apps

Most confusion about the credit card ban on casino apps comes from wallets. There are two kinds to think about, and they work differently.

Stored-value e-wallets

With a stored-value e-wallet such as PayPal or Skrill, you load a balance and then pay the casino from it. The Commission says an operator accepting these wallets should make sure the money wasn't loaded from a credit card. So topping up a wallet by credit card and then depositing is exactly what the rule is designed to stop.

Phone wallets

Apple's own pages say a card added to Apple Pay can be a credit, debit or prepaid card. A phone wallet is a way of paying with a card you've saved, and Coral's help pages, for example, say Google Pay withdrawals are paid back to the underlying card. The safest reading of the rule is that the card underneath is what counts, so choose a debit card in Apple Pay or Google Pay before you deposit.

How the credit card ban shows up in casino apps

You'll rarely see the rule named in an app. It shows up in which methods the cashier lists and in what happens if you try a card it won't take.

The help centres for Coral Casino and Ladbrokes Casino, both run by LC International Limited, state plainly that credit cards aren't accepted. They list Visa, Mastercard and Maestro debit cards, PayPal, Pay by Bank, Apple Pay, Google Pay and paysafecard, and they apply a UK limit of three active payment methods in any rolling 30 days. The Coral payments guide goes through each one.

PlayOJO, run by Skill On Net Limited, names debit cards, Payz, Apple Pay and Trustly on its help page and says you can have up to two non-verified cards at a time. Check the cashier for the current list, because operators add and remove methods.

If a card is declined in the app

1. Check whether the card is a credit card. Many people carry a credit card and a debit card from the same bank, and they look alike in a wallet.
2. If you were paying through Apple Pay or Google Pay, open the wallet and set a debit card as the card you use for this payment.
3. If it's a debit card, check whether you've turned on a gambling block in your banking app. A block will stop the payment by design.
4. Look at the app's list of accepted methods and the limit on how many methods you can use in a period.
5. If it still fails, contact the operator's support. Our guide to a declined payment in a casino app covers the other common causes.

What the credit card ban doesn't cover

The rule has one stated exception. Non-remote lotteries are outside it, which in practice means lottery tickets and scratchcards bought in a shop that sells other goods. Buying the same draw online is gambling with a licensee, so the ban applies there.

The ban is also written about credit cards specifically. It isn't a general cap on how much you can spend, and it doesn't decide which debit methods an operator offers. Those questions are handled by other rules, mainly the deposit limit prompts, the identity checks every operator has to run before you gamble, and the operator's duty to watch for signs of harm under the customer interaction rules.

Finally, the ban doesn't touch withdrawals in a way you'll notice. Winnings go back by the operator's own rules, usually to the method you deposited with. Our credit card ban payments guide looks at the cashier side in more detail.

Gambling credit card ban timeline

The Commission's announcement of the ban (opens in a new tab) gave operators three months to change their cashiers, which is why the start date sits in April rather than January.

Other ways UK rules and banks protect your money

The credit card ban is the bluntest money rule, but it works alongside several others. Knowing how they fit helps you choose the right tool.

The Commission keeps a list of banks that offer gambling blocks (opens in a new tab): Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Starling. HSBC says credit card gambling payments are blocked automatically, and its debit card restriction can be added on top. Our bank gambling blocks page compares how each one works.

Paying into a casino app without a credit card

With credit cards off the table, most people use a debit card or a bank-based method such as Pay by Bank. Either way, the money is already yours, so it helps to decide how much you're comfortable spending before you start.

1. Before your first deposit, set the deposit limit the app prompts you for. Setting a limit is the default, and you have to confirm if you want to skip it.
2. Pick a debit card or bank method and, if you use a phone wallet, check which card it will charge.
3. Keep to one or two methods. Coral and Ladbrokes cap you at three active methods in a rolling 30 days anyway.
4. Read the offer terms before depositing, because some methods don't qualify for welcome offers.
5. If you want a hard stop, add a gambling block in your banking app as well as the limit in the casino app.

Our guide to setting deposit limits in a casino app walks through the options, and the payment methods hub compares every method in detail.

Casino apps that follow the credit card ban, with welcome offers

All three apps below are licensed by the Gambling Commission and take debit cards and bank-based methods, not credit cards. Each welcome offer needs a qualifying deposit or spend, and some payment methods don't count, so check the method before you pay. 18+ and terms apply to every offer.

• Coral Casino: bet £10 on slots, get 100 free spins. 18+, new players, offer runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027. Deposit (certain types excluded) and bet £10 or more on slots; the 100 spins are on selected games at 10p each, must be accepted within 48 hours and are valid for 7 days. No wagering on free spin winnings. Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards don't qualify.
• Ladbrokes Casino: play £10 on slots, get up to 500 free spins. 18+, new customers. Deposit and spend £10 or more on slots for 50 free spins a day over your first 10 days (500 maximum), 10p each on selected games, claimed before 23:59 each day and valid for 7 days. No wagering. Deposits by prepaid card, PayPal, Paysafe, Neteller, Skrill and Moneybookers don't qualify.
• PlayOJO: 80 free spins with no wagering. 18+, new UK customers excluding Northern Ireland; first deposit of £10 or more. The 80 spins are on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each and winnings are paid in cash. It can't be combined with other offers and is available only through the designated offer link.

Free spins are for slots only. The house edge still applies to the spins and to anything you play afterwards, so treat any offer as a bit of extra entertainment rather than a way to make money.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.