News

Politician calls for credit card gambling restrictions

Politician calls for credit card gambling restrictions

• Pay off those credit cards with a remortgage or loan

 

A Scottish politician has called for restrictions to be imposed on the use of credit cards for online gambling.

Speaking following the passing of a bill outlawing gambling by the US Congress, Mike Weir, SNP spokesman for work & pensions, has called for a similar law to be introduced in the UK.

Under the US law it is now illegal for American banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling companies.

In support of this measure, Mr Weir today lodged an Early Day Motion calling for similar legislation to be introduced in Britain.

"There has been an explosion of gambling over the internet in recent years, much of it on credit cards. I have previously called for curbs on the use of credit cards but neither the gambling companies nor the credit card companies seem inclined to voluntarily address the problem," Mr Weir said.

"We need to take strong and long overdue action to tackle the rise of online gambling. Adopting the recent American legislation could certainly help us tackle this growing problem."

In 2005 there were some 1.1 million people in the UK who gambled online on a regular basis. However, by 2010 this is forecast to rise to 2.1 million.

As a result, consumer spending on online gambling is also predicted to rise, from £660 million in 2005 to £1.6 billion in 2010, according to figures from Screen Digest.


© Adfero Ltd

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

The news articles on our website are produced by Adfero Ltd and do not in any way represent the thoughts and opinions of anyone associated with mdnationwide limited. They are purely here for the reader to obtain the latest news and breaking news from the world of finance.