Online gambling on credit cards "difficult to monitor"

Friday, May 21st 2010

Credit card issuers now tend to make consumers aware of the annual percentage rate (APR) fees involved with gambling, according to an expert.

And the rates for such transactions are often the same as cash payments, which people should understand when they choose to gamble with their credit cards.

This is the view of Sandra Quinn, director of communications at the UK Cards Association, who said terms and conditions have been made public by many companies.

She was asked whether a rise in online gambling will mean consumers are more likely to receive large bills from high APR transactions.

Ms Quinn replied: "It is increasingly difficult to monitor. Credit card companies aren't generally making moral judgements about what you spend your money on."

And gambling over the internet is not illegal, although many sites are based outside of the UK, which may make the situation slightly less clear, she added.

The UK Cards Association is Britain's leading trades body for cards, with members including issuers and banks.