Australian banks urge Albanese government to ban use of credit cards for online gambling

‘Why should it be possible to do something in the virtual world that is prohibited in the real world?,’ Anna Bligh says

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The banking sector has urged the Australian government to ban credit card use for online sports gambling, arguing that the multibillion-dollar industry lacks basic regulation implemented in licensed venues decades ago.

The Australian Banking Association’s chief executive, Anna Bligh, was a cabinet minister in the Queensland government in the early 2000s when states and territories banned credit card use for gambling. But that legislation was never replicated for online gambling, which is regulated by the federal government. At the time, the industry didn’t exist. It’s now worth $50bn a year.

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