HSBC will allow its UK customers to self-exclude from gambling transactions for at least 24 hours as anti-gambling campaigners call on banking and financial services providers to adopt measures that can help regular gamblers control their spending.
UK and Europe’s largest bank will provide its more than 14.5 million UK customers with the option to restrict their spending on betting and casino activities. The self-restriction can be reversed after a 24-hour cooling-off period, which the bank believes is enough time for gamblers to consider their urge to wager money.
The self-exclusion measure was designed in partnership with responsible gambling charities GamCare and GambleAware. HSBC said that its purpose was to generate “positive friction” by providing the bank’s customers with enough time to consider whether they should continue to gamble or limit their spending on casino gaming and betting activities.
HSBC said that more than half a million of its customers wagered regularly in 2018, spending a monthly average of £52.50. The bank also pointed out that it receives more than 12,000 gambling-related calls from customers every year.
Commenting on the newly implemented measures, HSBC head of financial inclusion and vulnerability Maxine Pritchard said that bearing in mind the large number of calls relating to gambling they receive every year, “it’s clear we should do more to support these customers.”
The HSBC official also pointed out that they are committed “to helping customers manage their finances and that includes introducing new tools that can help control spending.”
Growing Pressure on the Financial Sector
News about the launch of HSBC’s self-restriction tool emerge amid growing pressure on the UK financial sector to introduce measures that can help gamblers limit their spending.
Banks such as Barclays, Monzo, and Starling have too enabled their customers to block gambling transactions on their accounts or credit cards. However, it is believed that HSBC is the largest financial organization to introduce such tools.
HSBC also revealed that it has trained staff to respond to gambling-related calls with the help of GamCare. The bank also plans to analyze card spending data it collects to identify customers that might benefit from advice.
Last week, the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group called for a radical overhaul of UK’s online gambling sector, including an outright ban on wagering with credit cards. The UK Gambling Commission launched in mid-August a twelve-week consultation on the matter, seeking input from the public and industry stakeholders on whether gambling online with credit cards should be banned completely or at least restricted.
The regulator is yet to reveal its discoveries from the inquiry, but many believe any future decision made by commission members could also affect gambling with the so-called e-wallets. Early this year, online payment services provider PayPal faced massive outcry after the publication of a report by The Guardian, claiming that the company let problem gamblers spend up to £150,000 a day to feed their gambling urge.
The company said that it was “extremely concerned” to hear that its services were used for funding “excessive online gambling” and promised to take due measures and tighten up rules and controls around payments.
Source: HSBC to let customers block spending on gambling websites, The Guardian
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