Irish gambling authority welcomes banks’ payments blocks

Irish gambling authority welcomes banks’ payments blocks
Credit: Daniel Heighton / Shutterstock

The Irish gambling regulator has underscored the importance of cross-collaboration between the betting and banking sectors to better prevent problem gambling.

In an update on her work as CEO of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), Anne-Marie Caufield welcomed the introduction of a voluntary block feature on gambling transactions by AIB and EBS, two of the biggest banks in the Republic of Ireland.

GRAI’s CEO emphasised that research by Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) shows that the average spend by people experiencing gambling harm is €1,000. The regulator sees gambling block features as a potential bulwark against excessive spending by bettors.

As noted above, AIB and EBS have both introduced blocking features, the former doing so in October this year. Revolut, a UK-based fintech which has been stepping up its activity as a traditional bank in Ireland, has also done so.

Caufield remarked: “We welcome the introduction by AIB and EBS of a voluntary block feature on debit and credit card transactions which are classified as linked to gambling. Revolut also gives customers the ability to implement a gambling block on their account.

“We are engaging with the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) and directly with pillar banks to encourage other financial institutions to introduce this valuable consumer protection measure.”

The close links between the finance and gambling sectors have led to increased cooperation around problem gambling prevention, though some observers like gambling harm charities would like to see more cooperation.

On the other side of the Irish Sea, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been encouraging the sector to learn from its counterparts in finance, particularly around data sharing.

This encouragement has occurred within the context of the Gambling Act review, which took place between 2020 and 2023 and is expected to be enacted in law under the current Labour government.

Some major UK banking stakeholders have also been offering gambling blocks to customers, with challenger bank Monzo arguably the most notable to do so. The bank recently reported an 8% year-over-year increase in gambling blocks by its customers since 2024.

Ireland, like its neighbour in the UK, has also been overhauling its gambling regulations in recent years, looking to upgrade to the legislative framework for gambling which had remained untouched since the 1950s.

The country’s gambling sector was already preparing for change ahead of the introduction of the tri-party coalition government’s Gambling Regulation Bill in 2022. For example, BoyleSports and Paddy Power, two of Ireland’s largest bookmakers, stopped accepting credit card transactions in 2021.