If you’re gambling in Australia and you love the convenience of funding your good times with your Bank Australia credit or debit card, we’ve got some bad news for you. According to a recent report on BusinessInsider.com, Bank Australia will prohibit the use of its credit cards for gambling transactions as of December 1, 2020.
The move is part of a broader trend in which banks, and other financial institutions, prohibit the use of their assets to support industries that they deem harmful. For example, lots of banks have stopped doing business with the fossil fuel industry because of the pollution it causes. In the case of gambling, Bank Australia officials say the ban is merely because their customers expect them to invest their deposits in a responsible manner, which precludes gambling.
A spokesperson for the bank elaborated on the idea saying, “As part of our commitment to responsible banking we want to make sure that the money we lend is used in ways that minimise potential harm to our customers and others. So in line with that commitment, we don’t think it’s responsible to continue to let customers use credit card debt to gamble,” he wrote in an email.
“We’ve engaged with our stakeholders and tested our position through research with customers, the overwhelming majority of whom support blocking gambling transactions on credit cards.”
While most people reading this article will likely think that barring the use of credit cards for gambling transactions is a bad idea, it’s actually supported by more than 80 percent of the bank’s customers.