In February, we joined forces with top NHS clinicians, academics and gambling harm reduction charities to call on the Government to ensure that everyone in the UK can access gambling blocks - regardless of who they bank with, how they gamble, or how they pay.
Since then, nearly 1,000 of you have added your name to our open letter.
Today, thanks to your support, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Harms, a cross party coalition of MPs dedicated to securing gambling reform, has joined the call.
The Group has been instrumental in driving huge improvements for vulnerable consumers in the UK - including passing legislation to prevent gambling on credit cards, and slashing the minimum stake at fixed odds betting terminals.
Together, we’re calling on the Government to:
Introduce a new requirement for account providers in the UK to make sure every consumer can access a friction driven, card based gambling block - regardless of who they bank with.
Mandate gambling firms to disclose their bank account details on a central registry to empower banks and other providers to extend their gambling block to bank transfers made to gambling companies as well as card payments.
Work with gaming firms to find a way to differentiate and identify loot box transactions from typical gaming purchases, so consumers can choose to block these transactions as part of existing gambling blocks
These changes could offer real support to reduce gambling harms in the UK, but they’re not a silver bullet. A dedicated package of support is required to create a world leading harm reduction strategy for the estimated 2 million people in the UK that experience the negative impact of gambling - but this is a good first step.