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Does Betting Affect your Credit Score?

One of the many questions surrounding online gambling is ‘Does betting affect credit rating?’. This question has no simple answer since everything depends on different parameters. Your credit score might or might not be affected depending on the type of player you are. For example, players who top up their accounts at non-Gamstop bookmakers can face negative effects.

That’s because lent money will affect your credit score. In this guide, we will take a look at what credit score is and how it is connected to gambling. How does each bank handle credit checks? How can you avoid harmful effects? Let’s see.

One of the many questions surrounding online gambling is ‘Does betting affect credit rating?’. This question has no simple answer since everything depends on different parameters. Your credit score might or might not be affected depending on the type of player you are. For example, players who top up their accounts at non-Gamstop bookmakers can face negative effects.

That’s because lent money will affect your credit score. In this guide, we will take a look at what credit score is and how it is connected to gambling. How does each bank handle credit checks? How can you avoid harmful effects? Let’s see.

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How Does Gambling Affect Credit Rating

Everything depends on parameters like how much bettors spend, whether they are late on debt payments or if they lend money to back habits. After all, the relationship between gambling and players’ credit rating has always been a strange one. Before we go further into detail about what a credit check is and how it applies to player activities, take a look at the best non Gamstop betting sites that won’t affect your credits.

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What is a Credit Check

A credit check, also known as a credit search, is a procedure used by banks to evaluate information regarding your financial status and behaviour. Institutions will examine your credit history or record of paying debts. You won’t necessarily have to give your consent for that. It occurs when you have applied for a mortgage, a loan, or a new credit/debit card.

How Does Credit Check Apply to Gambling

A credit check will occur whenever you try to get a loan or a mortgage from a bank, but this doesn’t mean that your gambling activity will be costly. If you balance how much money you make and how much you spend on betting, you will not face any problems.

Likewise, if you keep betting on low amounts, don’t use borrowed money to gamble (loan or credit card), and don’t delay your payments, you shouldn’t worry. After all, betting is not directly tied to credit score. But, to avoid the opposite, even the banks help you set your limits.

Can Banks Block Betting Transactions Due to Credit Checks?

The UK high street banks like Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest, and more offer tailor-made blocking applications and solutions like freezing and unfreezing your cards’ transactions or even offering Gamban for free for a few days.

After all, you don’t want to find yourself dealing with a low credit rating. All are meant to keep you away from gambling or set the proper limits so that you won’t deal with a low credit score or a gambling addiction. Let’s see, though, what does every bank offer.

Gambling with Bank of Scotland: Can You Block it?

The Bank Of Scotland gives you the chance to control the usage of your cards. For example, you can freeze and unfreeze several types of debit/credit card transactions, like gambling ones, through the card locking feature.

Does Barclays Block Gambling?

Barclays’ users can block deposits to any gambling websites and applications through web banking applications. After the latest service update, as soon as this option is activated, users must wait 72 hours before deactivating it and making transactions to gambling operators. It is worth mentioning that more than 570.000 players have used it since 2018, when the feature was published.

How Does Halifax Stop Gambling?

Halifax bank helps UK punters who want to stop betting or set limits through various tools:

  1. It offers a 7-day free use of the Gamban application, so you can block your access to all kinds of gambling sites and betting mobile apps
  2. Players may choose among the “Card Freeze” and “Freeze Gambling” tools to stop gambling transactions
  3. Through the tool “Financial Tracking”, you will be aware at any time regarding the money you have spent for betting purposes
  4. The bank provides psychological support for those in need because of gambling addiction

Can HSBC Block Gambling?

HSBC tries to help out the punters who want to set restrictions on gambling transactions. Users may choose to restrict or not their debit and credit cards through the Pay By Bank app. Also, there is a 72-hour cool-off period, which means that even if you deactivate the restriction on gambling payments, you won’t be able to proceed with a gambling deposit for the next three days.

Can Lloyds Bank Stop Me From Gambling?

Just like Halifax, Lloyds Bank offers you the chance to get and activate a free trial version of the Gamban application. Also, through the Freeze-Unfreeze function, you can choose whether you want to have the gambling transactions active or not.

Can MBNA Stop Gambling?

MBNA not only provides a solution of freezing or unfreezing your gambling payments but also will provide you the chance to use Gamban for 7 days for free. In addition, ΜΒΝΑ also lets the customers keep track of spendings through the Online Card Services.

Does Monzo Have a Gambling Block?

Yes, using the bank application, Monzo lets you block gambling transactions. However, it won’t be easy to deactivate it since you will have to contact Customer Support. The latter will ask questions to understand why activating the service has changed since then.

How Does Natwest Block Gambling?

Natwest will help you block your betting payments by using the card-locking feature for gambling transactions. The feature applies to both physical and virtual debit cards, but note that you will have to wait for 48 hours before you can make a new gambling payment, even if you decide to deactivate it.

Can the Royal Bank Of Scotland Stop Gambling?

RBS is aware of the fact that many customers may face a gambling addiction. To help them make life easier and to determine if they are under control or not, they provide a self-assessment tool. Also, RBS clients can block betting transactions via a mobile bank application.

Can Santander Block Gambling?

In case you have a Santander Mastercard, you won’t have to freeze your card altogether. You can choose to block specific types of transactions, as gambling ones. Also, through the Account Management section on your Mobile Banking app and, more specifically, the My Money Manager tool, you can always stay on top concerning your spending.

Starling Bank and Gambling: Will They Block Me?

Starling bank allows users to completely stop online payments, including gambling ones, through mobile banking. We have covered how you can block gambling payments on the most popular banks in the United Kingdom, but many other parameters can affect your credit score. So, what should you do to keep your credit rating on a good level?

How to Avoid Betting Affecting Your credit Score

Of course, everything depends on how you choose to bet, but your betting activity will not affect your credit score if you do it the right way. The coin always has two sides and the same applies in the case of the relationship between gambling and credit check. Therefore, always make sure you adhere to the following.

  • Always place your bets using your own money
  • Never spend too much, or the banks will notice
  • If you want to bet on UK betting sites, forget about using your bank to top up your betting account
  • Never forget to pay your debts on time. If you don’t, the combination of that and gambling will take a toll on your credit rating.

Gambling and Credit Score: Will I Get a Mortgage?

The way you bet could affect your credit rating. Your actions are the ones to bring the desired results or not. If your questions still are “does gambling affect credit score” and “will I get a mortgage”, then you will find out that the first answer is connected to the second one.

  1. If you are a high roller who prefers high stakes betting sites, it will significantly affect your attempts to get a mortgage and how the banks see you. The latter will consider your lending as a possible risk.
  2. If you want to have the chance on your side, avoid placing your bets using borrowed money. Don’t use your credit card on casinos not on GamCare or on international betting sites when choosing to get around Gamstop and don’t even consider getting a loan to fuel your betting habits.
  3. Always make sure that your previous and running debts are paid on time.

If you follow the advice mentioned above, banks won’t bother checking out if you gamble or not.

Does the Credit Card Ban Help Your Credit Score in the UK

It is no secret that using credit cards for online betting can have negative effects. The reason behind that is that your credit card funds are considered borrowed money, which alone is enough to affect your credit score. A few years ago, the UKGC banned credit card transactions on gambling sites.

However, players can still find a wide range of operators and place wagers on betting sites that accept credit cards. So, when it comes to the question ‘Does betting affect credit score?’, the answer is that gambling will cause you problems only under certain circumstances.

FAQs
Do betting websites affect credit rating?

Gambling, on certain occasions, might affect your credit rating, but this is not the case for the bookmakers you have chosen to place your wagers with. Sportsbooks don’t have the power to affect the outcome of your credit score or your mortgage. For example, they can’t get in touch with your banks, mentioning that you gamble. That is visible only through your bank’s transactions. So, just betting with any UK or a Non UK bookmaker doesn’t affect your credit rating.

Does online betting affect credit score?

Online gambling is not precisely linked to your credit score, nor a factor like betting credit score exists. That means that banks do not care if you place your bets online or on betting shops, as long as your payments are not late and you don’t use lent money to enjoy yourself through gambling. So if your question is, “does gambling affect credit rating in the UK?” note that the answer depends on your actions.

Do betting accounts appear on credit checks?

There isn’t a specific betting credit rating factor taken under consideration when you apply for a mortgage. This is because the betting accounts won’t be visible to the banks. Make no mistake, though. If you do have a low credit score from making late payments and the lender will see evidence of gambling through your transactions, these factors will be an inhibitor for your loan. If you want to avoid all the above mess, though and use alternative payment methods not visible to the banks, check here the complete list of Non-UK betting sites you can use if you choose to cancel Gamstop.

Mathias Winks
Online Gambling Expert
Mathias is our extremely knowledgeable founder and article author. Do not let his sometimes stern appearance fool you, he is extremely friendly and always ready to engage in hour long conversations about Dota. Football is his other great love and if you don’t catch him at a stadium, watching a game, you will certainly find him in front of a computer researching and gathering information about the latest news on online casinos and betting sites.