As the UK gears up for regulation and legislation of its igaming industry, major players in the digital payment and processing sector have voluntarily agreed to block future transactions to non UK- complying igaming regulations.
Credit cards and online payment processors such as Visa, Switch, Mastercard and PayPal Ebay, are set to block payment attempts to igaming operators not licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
Payment blocking of unregulated sites will be one of the main weapons used by the Commission as it attempts to restrict illegal / non complying igaming operators. These restrictions and punishments for noncompliance were made public during the House of Lords’ recent second reading of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill, and although the Lords rejected the amendment it seems a voluntary scheme might replace a regulatory one.
Others measures discussed included IP-blocking, which would involve the co-operation of internet service providers, who may not reside under UK jurisdiction.