Ireland to introduce voluntary blocks on debit & credit cards used for gambling

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Customers who bank with Allied Irish Bank (AIB) or EBS will now have the chance to add a voluntary block to any gambling activity on their debit or credit cards. 

Ireland recently inaugurated the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), their very own gambling regulator, to monitor gambling harms within the country. As part of their initiative, they have sought that banks add a voluntary block for any gambling related purchases.

According to ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute) research the average spend by a person going through gambling harm is €1,000 (£831) a month. 

Ireland is the latest country in Europe on track to becoming a regulated market, following GRAI’s passing of the country’s gambling regulation bill back in October 2024. 

One of the measures in the bill was the facilitation of a block feature which would include advert restrictions, a national exclusion register and a social fund for problem gambling initiatives.

Following this, GRAI will have the power to impose fines up to €20m or 10% of gross gambling yield, on operators, if they don’t abide by safer gambling regulations.

Anne-Marie Caulfield, GRAI chief executive designate commented: “We welcome the introduction by AIB and EBS of a voluntary block feature on debit and credit card transactions which are classified as linked to gambling. Revolut also gives customers the ability to implement a gambling block on their account.”

GRAI is currently undergoing further discussions with more banks to install the block feature on digital banking services. 

Caulfield continued: “We are engaging with the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland and directly with pillar banks to encourage other financial institutions to introduce this valuable consumer protection measure.”