In June 2024, the Australian government banned the use of credit cards for online gambling. They argued the ban would prevent people from borrowing to fund gambling and, in doing so, reduce gambling harms. Using anonymised, consented and aggregated transaction data, this research note evaluates the policy’s effect. The focus is on its impact on online sports gambling, which is the majority of the online market. 

The results suggest that gambling behaviour can be responsive to policy change, particularly policies that make gambling more inconvenient. However, if the aim of policy is to reduce gambling harms, greater returns may come from targeting other forms of gambling – particularly poker machines – where harms appear to be more concentrated. 

Key findings

• Credit cards made up only a small share of online sports gambling pre-ban.
• Gambling with a credit card was associated with a stronger financial position.
• The policy reduced online gambling for this group.
• These effects reflect inconvenience rather than credit constraints.