The exceptions are the Lloyds Banking Group - Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds Bank - which let you choose which types of transactions you want to freeze, such as those made with the physical. Gambling restrictions on your credit and debit cards, including Pay by Bank app Restrictions on credit cards From 14 April 2020, all UK Licensed Gambling Operators can no longer accept credit cards for gambling as per the Gambling Commission announcement on 14 Jan 2020. More than 25,000 customers have signed up to the bank's block since it went live in June. 'Not all of those were problem gamblers but about 8,000 people did have a history of gambling,' says Mr.

1. Lloyds Bank Stop Gambling Block Software
2. Lloyds Bank Stop Gambling Blocked
3. Lloyds Bank Stop Gambling Blocking

1. Punters are using banking apps to help themselves stop gambling (Image: Getty) Lloyds has seen 154,000 apply the controls since October. MP Carolyn Harris, Chair of the All Party Gambling Related.
2. Coushatta Inn Casino Lloyds Bank Block Gambling Resort. The 195 spacious rooms are tastefully furnished with your comfort in mind. Vending machines on every floor offer a full array of soft drinks, snacks, and incidentals, to ensure your stay is enjoyable.

Halifax has become the latest bank operating in the UK to allow its customers to block transactions made on gambling websites, joining the likes of Barclays, Lloyds, Santander, and RBS.

The new blocking feature has been designed ‘in recognition of the ways in which the bank can support customers to manage their money and gamble responsibly’.

Elyn Corfield, Managing Director of Consumer Finance at Halifax, commented: “We know that people who gamble a higher proportion of their income are more likely to face financial pressure – so we’ve introduced the freeze tool to help them manage that. Importantly, by also introducing a defrost period we’re helping to protect those who might otherwise make an impulsive return to gambling.”

Halifax has confirmed that the tool will be made available via its mobile app. Customers of the bank will be able to self-exclude both their credit and debit cards from being used at bookmakers and gambling websites.

As well as being able to freeze gambling transactions, Halifax customers can also use an accompanying ‘defrost’ period, allowing customers to reverse their decision to freeze gambling transactions after 48 hours. The bank emphasised that ‘this time period allows customers to thinking time to ensure their decision isn’t made in haste or under duress’.

The feature forms part of the bank’s wider strategy to protect its customers from the risks associated with gambling. Halifax has since committed to offering additional training to customer facing colleagues the branch network and telephony services, and sharing further support information for customers online.

This has been accompanied by a collaborative study with Warwick University to review and analyse the impact of gambling related harm. The findings are due to be shared with the Gambling Commission and other external organisations in the coming months.

At the end of 2018, Barclays became the first UK high-street bank to integrate a ‘gambling-block’ component across its customer-facing digital platforms. The gambling-block feature, co-developed with citizen financial advisory the Money Advice Trust, allows customers to turn-off engagements with all gambling-related properties.

Despite having the necessary tools, more support needs to be given by operators when it comes to player protection in gambling, according to the Founder of Gamban.

Gambling blocking software supplier Gamban announced a partnership with Lloyds Banking Group earlier this week, which will provide customers of Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax access to its blocking system.

However according to Jack Symons, despite the work banks have done in recent times, the gambling industry must do more to support problem gambling, especially when it has the apparatus at its disposal.

The Gamban Founder and CEO told Gambling Insider: “The regulators talk about innovation, but existing tools aren’t being used. To me, in terms of things that will actively help people, the wheel doesn’t always have to be completely reinvented.

“There are tools that are working and helping, they are just not being given the support they need.

“Despite the myriad of ‘reg-tech’ products, the bare minimum of someone saying ‘I’ve got a problem, I need to stop’, is still something that isn’t being supported by many UK operators.

“The fact things that already exist aren’t being supported gives me very little faith that we’ll get where we want to in terms of players protection any time soon.”

Lloyds Bank Stop Gambling Block Software

The deal with Lloyds is the first of its kind for Gamban, while other banks also participate in allowing customers to block gambling spend, with Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland joining Barclays in this move last January.

Symons praised the works banks do with player protection, envisaging working with more in the future, but criticised Internet Service Providers (ISP) who he said must ‘step forward.'

Lloyds Bank Stop Gambling Blocked

He added: “Gambling can manifest as a financial problem, and the banks are an unlikely hero. I think given they are not responsible for providing gambling services, the fact they are stepping up to try and protect their vulnerable customers, is something I think should be widely recognised.

Lloyds Bank Stop Gambling Blocking

“While we’re seeing more banks helping vulnerable customers, I’d like to also see ISP’s stepping forward.

“There’s a fine line between protection and censorship but what I’d like to see is some of the illegal, unregulated offshore content blocked or at least a warning around the sites that shouldn’t be accessible.

“I think access is clearly a big part of this and if people want to be able to switch off access to gambling through their ISP, we are happy to play a role in this but I think there’s a lot of things that could be done at ISP level.”