Monzo calls on government to introduce mandatory gambling spending blocks for banks

Monzo has called on the UK government to introduce new rules requiring all banks and building societies to offer gambling spending blocks as part of the Gambling Act 2005 review. In an open letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, Monzo CEO TS Anil highlighted the review as being a fantastic opportunity to build a “standardised, comprehensive framework of self-exclusion tools” to assist what he termed as  an “estimated 2 million people in the UK experiencing harm”. The online challenger bank has offered its customers the ability to block gambling-related transactions since 2018, with more than 250,000 customers signing up to the service. “These blocks are opt-in features that customers control, are simple to build, proven to work, and will help protect hundreds of thousands of people,” Anil explained. “The government will also need to take steps to future proof these tools and address new developments in the online gambling market to make sure such comprehensive payment blockers and harm reduction measures work today, next year, and in the decades to come,” he added. Fellow challenger bank Starling matched Monzo in offering gambling spending blocks in 2018, later being joined by UK high-street banks including HSBC, Halifax and Barclays. In addition to calling for gambling spending blocks, Monzo has urged the government to force gambling operators to disclose their bank details on a centrally managed registry. The objective, Monzo suggests, would be to empower banks and other financial services providers to extend gambling block services to bank transfers made to gambling operators, as well as card payments. “By opening up this data, the government would take the first step towards helping firms build truly comprehensive gambling payment blockers, keep pace with developments in the gambling market, and keep protecting every UK consumer who chooses to use them,” Monzo wrote. Monzo has also suggested the government should work with the gaming industry to find a way to differentiate and identify transactions made to purchase loot boxes, so that these can also be covered under gambling spending blocks. Citing loot boxes as an area of “growing concern” for its customers, Monzo echoed calls for loot boxes to be reclassified as games of chance. The letter was co-signed by academics from the University of Bristol and representatives from Gamban, Gamfam and betknowmore, as well as National Problem Gambling Clinic director Henrietta Bowden-Jones.