PayPal joins the fight against problem gambling prohibiting iGaming payments with Gamban’s blocking software.
As the online casino industry grows and expands, the focus of industry professionals continues to change. Responsible gambling is one of the primary focus points for all industry experts and for good reason.
Payment service providers such as PayPal are pushing to increase player safety with responsible gambling tools.
New payment blocking software
PayPal recently added Gamban's blocking software to its platform enabling UK and US users to stop any online gambling transactions.
The new blocking software covers all types of gambling transactions ranging from games of chance to games of skill.
You can use the software to block both virtual and physical casino games from table games to online slots. You can use it to block the purchase of lottery tickets, sports betting, horse, and greyhound racing, and person-to-person betting.
With this software, you will also have the option to block any transactions to gambling-related ventures which include organized forums, sites serving as intermediaries for placing bets, and sites with gambling tips.
In 2019, PayPal was under review for its controls and payment rules . The review period stemmed from the provider expressing concerns that the platform serves as a method to fund excessive online gambling.
According to the gambling blocking platform, Gamban, it's a great and welcome addition to the gambling recovery toolkit having PayPal offering users the option of blocking gambling transactions.
The platform stated that with the option to block gambling transactions via your bank and PayPal, the option to block online gambling via Gamban, and self-excluding via GamStop the road to recovery gets easier.
Reasons for blocking gambling transactions
Online gambling is meant to be a source of entertainment, not an addiction. In the past few years, there's been a push for iGaming sites to strengthen their position on responsible gambling, including encouraging players to play responsibly .
This is in addition to offering support for those already struggling with gambling problems. It's become so vital that the top gaming authorities refuse to license sites that do not have the proper responsible gambling practices in place.
The belief is that one of the most effective ways to encourage responsible gambling is to give users the option of blocking transactions. Many iGaming sites have tools that enable you to place limits on the amount you can deposit per week or month. UK gambling sites are no longer accepting credit card payments.
For PayPal, it was concerning to see that many transactions linked directly to problem gambling. To work on the issue, PayPal is partnering with Gamban to provide users with an automatic blocking system.
Users now have the option to set the service to automatically block iGaming payments via their PayPal settings. Making it easier for those with a gambling problem to refrain from using the payment method to fund gambling transactions.
The impact on future iGaming payments
Responsible gambling is becoming a higher priority in most regions with gaming authorities focusing on increasing player safety and bringing down the numbers surrounding problem gambling.
Apart from iGaming operators being expected to encourage responsible gambling, it is becoming more vital for payment services to assist in finding solutions for the problem.
This means that more payment providers might be implementing software for users to regain control over their iGaming spending. This new software automatically detects when payments are made to a gambling site and users can block the transactions to iGaming or other related sites.