Gambling restrictions on credit cards
You cannot use your Nationwide credit card for gambling.
The law changed in April 2020. And all UK licensed gambling operators stopped accepting credit cards.
This step was announced by the Gambling Commission as a way of protecting consumers. And impacts gambling in both the UK and internationally – although some countries have different laws.
Does this mean I can’t use my credit card for gambling overseas?
Yes. You will not be able to use your Nationwide credit card with any company classed as gambling internationally.
Do all banks restrict the use of credit cards for gambling?
The Gambling Commission doesn't allow UK gambling operators to accept any credit cards.
Nationwide supports the Gambling Commission's objective of reducing gambling harm. So, we block any credit card transactions where we know or suspect they are for gambling purposes. But other card issuers may have a different approach.
How does the gambling block work?
The block works by stopping transactions identified as gambling. We know which transactions to block due to merchant category codes (MCCs).
Gambling companies assign themselves an MCC, which allows us to identify any transactions to them as gambling. And stop the payment before the money is transferred.
There's a possibility that a gambling company may use the wrong MCC. In that case, we wouldn't block any transactions to them. This is because there's no way for us to know it's gambling. Equally, if a non-gambling company uses a gambling MCC, we may block transactions to them.
There are some gambling transactions we can't block. For example, scratch cards and lottery tickets in some shops. This will depend on how the shop has set up its tills.
We also may not be able to block in-game purchases in video games.