Betting with credit cards

[DBA_bloke]

Of course you did. Remember?

No. Er, wait a minute... er... um... now then... er ... no... dunno.

[Zorba]

Of course you did. Remember?

[DBA_bloke]

Did I? I'm confused, now.

[Zorba]

No, I did.

Oh yeah. Sorry about that. Got confused for a minute.

[Spartacus]

No, I got a letter from my credit card company.

No, I did.

[Moose423956]

I probably did as well, but my brain doesn't work any more so I probably ignored it.

[Zorba]

I got a letter from my credit card company (Nationwide).

No, I got a letter from my credit card company.

[Spartacus]

I got a letter from my credit card company (Nationwide).

[Ravello]

Yep happened a while ago. Ladbrokes sent out an email advising customers and had a section on their site explaining when, why etc. My credit card company included an added line to the small print on my statement...

[King Cnvt]

Interesting. Does this apply to all kinds of betting, such as stock-market spread betting?

Yes.

[Zorba]

Interesting. Does this apply to all kinds of betting, such as stock-market spread betting?

[Moose423956]

Checking my credit card statement, I noticed a cash handling charge and a cash interest payment. I never take cash out on my credit card, so I questioned it. Apparently, the government has introduced a law that if someone uses a credit card for betting purposes, it is now treated as cash, and the credit card company charges the customer for taking cash out, and charges interest on the cash straight away. Even if it goes via a Paypal account, as it does in my case.

Now I think this is a good idea, as it will deter people from using large amounts of credit for betting. I only bet £1 a week, usually on a 4 horse accumulator, to try and land the "big one". But I didn't know about the new law in advance. I haven't seen anything in the news, and I don't remember having a leaflet about it from the credit card company.

I'm not going to use my Paypal account for this any more. I transfer £10 once every 10 weeks, and as I now have to pay £2.50 handling charge plus interest for the privilege each time, there's no point. I'll take it from my current account instead, as the new law doesn't apply to that.