British banks will limit the amount of gambling transactions

Following the example of Barclays, three major UK banks will allow customers to control and block certain types of payments through mobile applications.

Lloyds, Santander and RBS have approved proposals to develop payment blocking functions related to online betting transactions. In addition, Barclays plans to integrate a component for blocking online gambling transactions into the bank’s digital platforms.

Several leading banks will follow this example by updating their mobile banking applications so that customers can control when and where they spend money.

RBS, whose clients are 30 million Britons, said it would implement measures like those that were implemented by Barclays at the end of last year.

Speaking about the tools implemented by Barclays, it means that customers can turn off interaction in the application with all objects related to gambling, as well as block payments in four other categories: food and beverages, gas stations, groceries and supermarkets, premium websites and telephone lines.

A spokesman for Lloyds said: "We plan to improve interaction with customers by informing them about the costs of gambling and imposing restrictions on spending on gambling."

New card management tools allow customers to more effectively control transactions.

After Barclays announced the creation of blocking functions, GambleAware CEO Mark Etches commented on this initiative:

“In Britain, 340,000 problem players and another 1.7 million people are at risk. Such initiatives can play an important role in reducing the harm associated with gambling.”