William Hill announced that it will suspend the use of credit cards for gambling transactions online in Ireland as of today, February 16th.
The British gambling giant has made the decision only a few weeks after a local media hub confirmed that a number of major gambling operators continue to accept credit card payments in the country in violation of the Irish Safer Gambling Code. At the time, the Irish Independent further revealed that a few gambling operators claiming not to accept online payments funded by credit cards actually do so indirectly through third-party payment applications such as Revolut, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
In an official statement, William Hill shared that it had an ambition that no one suffers any gambling-related harm. The British company said that it has decided to remove credit card deposits as an official payment option voluntarily.
As announced by the gambling giant, William Hill customers in Ireland will no longer be able to use their credit cards to make payments on the operator’s online betting platform as of February 16th. The company informed its local users of the change.
Some Gambling Operators Circumvent Credit Card Ban by Using Third-Party Payment Systems
As Casino Guardian reported last month, Irish betting apps have been taking advantage of Google and Apple payment systems to circumvent the ban on credit card use for gambling payments by using their Google Pay and Apple Pay options.
At the time, at least one of the largest gambling operators was confirmed to be ignoring the suspension.
Reportedly, Revolut has been among the most-preferred third-party payment systems used by some of the companies to circumvent the measure, as it can be linked to customers’ credit cards. Online gambling operators have claimed that after the money gets processed through its platform, the payments become literally untraceable and they have been unable to make sure whether the money came from credit cards or originated from another source. Only days after reports emerged, Revolut announced a decision to suspend the use of credit cards for online gambling payments by introducing special technology to help companies separate gambling payments made through debit and credit cards.
The Irish Government Expected to Crack Down on the Local Gambling Sector
William Hill, which in October 2021 refused to sign up to the Safer Gambling Code of the Irish Bookmakers Association(BHA), however, is not the only gambling giant that has been allowing the use of credit cards for online gambling transactions. Another large gambling operator, BetVictor, is among the companies that have still not implemented the credit card ban for its customers in Ireland, while it has already complied with the legislative rules in the UK and banned similar transactions there.
The head of the Irish Bookmakers Association, which is the body that sets the credit card ban, has revealed that it has no power to impose sanctions on gambling with credit cards because the practice has not been formally outlawed by the Irish Government. The authorities are expected to do so as part of the latest crackdown on the betting sector.
The country’s Government plans to introduce stricter gambling laws to better control the local gambling sector and to make Ireland’s gambling laws more fit for the requirements of the sector. The new gambling watchdog is expected to be expected at the end of 2022 or 2023 at the earliest. The Government has revealed that it will establish a new gambling regulatory body that would be given significant powers to oversee betting companies in the country.
- Author
Olivia Cole
