People struggling with gambling will be able to have their debit cards blocked from registered websites and apps under a new banking initiative. The voluntary card-blocking initiative, launched on Friday by the Irish Banking Culture Board and member banks AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB, is designed to work like a “switch”.
Today, 90 per cent of gambling takes place online with 99 per cent of it funded via debit cards.
“This is something that we’ve been pushing for and advocating for, for years,” said Barry Grant, project manager of Extern Problem Gambling, an online support and counseling service. The blanket blocking is massive.”
