Illinois will be prohibiting the use of credit cards for the purposes of sports gambling in a move that has been hailed as monumental by responsible gambling advocates. The Illinois Gaming Board, which regulates the industry in the Prairie State, voted to back the measure without dissent last week.
Illinois expands credit card use ban to sports gambling
The Board agreed that although it has been five years since launching regulated sports gambling in the state, there were still aspects of the regulation that could be improved particularly with consumer protection focus.
Commenting on this matter, Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter explained that this was a sensible approach and encouraged responsible gambling in order to mitigate potential harms stemming from the hobby.
"Problem gamblers are at particular risk, and studies have shown a willingness for compulsive gamblers to use credit cards to place bets."
Fruchter explained that when sports gambling was originally launched in Illinois, all other states that had similar laws had allowed the use of credit cards. The industry will have to adjust, however, as credit card bans are usually associated with lower overall spending on the activity.
This and the introduced tax increase on sports gambling in 2024 are contributing factors to regulated companies in the Land of Lincoln bracing for slower growth and less exciting results.
However, the ban on credit card use for sports gambling is not yet adopted, as the proposal will be submitted to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Index Department, which will then submit it to the Illinois Register for public feedback over 45 days before any further measures are taken.
Jurisdictions around the world take a hard stance against credit cards in gambling
Illinois is unlikely to see a high degree of resistance on the matter, particularly because the state is already running a credit card ban that applies to the state’s casinos – arguably the harder activity of the two to regulate.
Credit card use in gambling is linked to higher gambling-related harm among consumers. Globally, jurisdictions from Brazil to the United Kingdom to Australia have ruled against the use of such payment methods for the purposes of sports, casino, and Internet gambling.
