GamCare Urges Banks to Raise Awareness of Gambling Blocks

GamCare has urged banks to do more to raise awareness of gambling block tools among their customers. Blocks are available with many UK banks, but the charity says customers are often not aware.

It recommended that banks routinely refer customers to the tools and to support services such as TalkBanStop, the joint initiative between GamCare, Gamban and Gamstop. It made the recommendation following a Gambling Related Financial Harm (GRFH) workshop.

Deelan Maru, an advisor on the Behavioural Insights Team, said: “Our analysis of bank gambling tools shows that gambling blocks have inconsistent naming conventions across different banking apps. For example, one bank may call it ‘card freeze’ whilst another would place it under ‘merchant control’ or ‘restriction’ settings – ultimately causing ambiguity and confusion for the consumer.

“Offering these tools in intuitive locations and adopting consistent naming across the finance sector could help drive awareness and adoption of gambling management tools, ensuring more vulnerable customers are protected from gambling harms.”