What Is a Bank Gambling Block?
A control that lives with your bank rather than with us, which is exactly why it holds.
A switch in most Australian banking apps that refuses card payments to gambling businesses, ours included. Turning it on is instant; turning it off normally carries a waiting period. We cannot see it, change it or override it.
How do I turn it on?
- Open your banking appThe block belongs to the card, so it lives with your bank rather than with us.
- Find the card settingsIt usually sits beside the controls for freezing a card or blocking overseas payments.
- Switch on the gambling blockBanks name it differently: gambling block, restrict gambling, merchant block. It applies within moments.
- Ask if you cannot find itThe bank's own chat or phone line can switch it on for you.
What does it stop, and what gets past it?
| Way of paying | Stopped by the block? | What covers it instead |
|---|---|---|
| Visa and Mastercard | Yes | Nothing needed |
| Apple Pay and Google Pay | Yes, they run on the same card | Nothing needed |
| JET bank transfer | No, it is not a card payment | A deposit limit in your account |
| Neosurf and CashtoCode vouchers | No, they are bought with cash | A deposit limit in your account |
| Cryptocurrency | No | A deposit limit, or self-exclusion |
That is why the block works best as one layer of two. It shuts the fastest route into every gambling business at once, ours included, and a deposit limit or a self-exclusion inside the account covers the routes a bank cannot see.
Why is a control we cannot touch the strongest one?
Because it sits outside every gambling account you have or might open. We cannot see it, change it or override it, and neither can anybody else in this business. A new account somewhere else does not get around it, and a persuasive conversation with a support agent does not either.
The waiting period on switching it off is the point of it. The request is made in one frame of mind and takes effect in another.
If a card is refused in our cashier, the block is the most common reason, and it is your bank's decision rather than ours. We cannot lift it and would not if we could. It comes off in the banking app, after the bank's own wait.
Also asked
Does every bank offer one?
Nearly every Australian banking app does. If yours does not show it, ask the bank directly.
How long does switching it off take?
Usually about a day, and some banks make it longer. That delay is a feature.
Can you remove it for me?
No. It belongs to your bank and we have no access to it.
Does it cover other gambling sites as well?
Yes. It refuses card payments to any business the card network classes as gambling.
Is it the same as BetStop?
No. BetStop is a register that shuts you out of operators licensed in Australia. The block is a setting on your own card.