Consumers using online gambling services will no longer be able to use credit cards and “credit related products” to make payments, following the passage of legislation this week. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Act 2023 also prohibits the use of digital currency as a payment method for online gambling. Online lottery services will be exempt from the new law. Banks and payment service providers will have to work with online wagering businesses to develop identification and detection methods to block the use of credit for online gambling. The new law does not specify the technical mechanism to be used to block the use of credit but the explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill said it is expected that online gambling operators will use bank identification numbers to identify and block credit card payments. This method is used in Australian casinos and poker machine venues to stop credit card withdrawals from ATMs, and is used in the United Kingdom to stop the use of credit for online gambling. There will be a six-month transition period after the new law receives royal assent “to give banks and wagering service providers time to prepare for and implement changes necessary to ensure compliance with the new requirements”. The government acted on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, which produced a report on online gambling in November 2021. It said that gambling with credit could lead to extreme financial hardship. The committee report cited research that put the level of online gambling involving credit at around 15 to 20 per cent. The new law creates a new criminal offence and new civil penalty provisions related to the bans and gives the Australian Communications and Media Authority enhanced enforcement powers. Financial Counselling Australia welcomed the introduction of the legislation, saying it was a big win in the battle to reduce gambling harms. But it added that the government still has some work to do. FCA said it was disappointed with the carve-out for online lotteries. It also wants to see the definition of gambling updated to cover a new wave to services, such as “social casinos”, which sidestep regulation by using tokens instead of cash, and by other means.