Are you using your credit card to gamble online?
Online gambling has become huge in the UK over recent years, with many betting enthusiasts doing everything from playing the lottery and betting on the horses online to playing online bingo and trying their hand at online poker or slot machines. For many, a credit card is the ideal tool to enjoy these gambling activities, but experts are warning that consumers should avoid using their credit cards for online gambling at all costs, otherwise they could quickly find themselves in a pit of debt that is very difficult to clamber out of.
Sean Gardner from Moneyexpert stated that getting into gambling debt with credit cards was all too easy but getting out of this debt was extremely difficult, particularly for those that continued to gamble. He stated: "It's very easy to lose track of the money you owe on your credit card, particularly with online gambling. If you have wracked up debts through gambling the important thing is not to bury your head in the sand. If you can't meet repayments it's always better to tell someone or to seek professional help."
In addition to running up debts thick and fast through gambling those that use credit cards to conduct online gambling activities will also incur cash transaction charges applied by the credit card issuer, as online gambling transactions come under the same umbrella as cash transactions. This can make the debt even more difficult to repay. Many banks and credit card companies have already stated that a good proportion of bad debt on credit cards has been run up through online gambling, where the cardholder has lost control of spending and has then been unable to repay the debt.
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