In an attempt to curb ‘problem gambling’, the Gambling Commission, which regulates how we place our ‘flutters’, has announced that, with effect from the middle of April, we will no longer be allowed to place bets on credit cards.

It’s a good move. ‘Problem gambling’ – i.e. using money that we cannot afford to lose – is nothing short of an addiction and needs to be dealt with on an equal footing to more common forms such as drugs or alcohol.

It is easy to be tempted by the chance to ‘make a quick buck’

There are many people in this country who struggle to find the money for the bare essentials. It’s easy to be tempted by the chance to ‘make a quick buck’ by gambling on the plethora of betting opportunities available to us, so anything we can do to make it more difficult has got to be a good thing.

Technology sends availability in the opposite direction, of course, with online gambling having become commonplace over the last few years. It is now, by far, the most widely-used way of gambling, with online accounts making up two-thirds of the total betting industry income last year according to statistics published by the Gambling Commission.

The ban on credit cards will apply to all gambling products both online and offline, save for lotteries run for good causes. Even those lotteries, including the National Lottery, will be subject to tougher safeguards, particularly with regard to vulnerable people, and will only be available on credit cards in supermarkets and newsagents if bought with other products.

24 million people in the UK take part in gambling each year

Amongst the statistics in the Gambling Commission report were some staggering numbers. 10.5 million people in the UK have an online account; an amazing 24 million people in this country gamble in some way or another every year. If online spending accounts for two-thirds of the total, this must mean that the average amount gambled per head is so much more than in a shop or at a live event. It would be, wouldn’t it, as it’s so much easier.

Banning the use of credit cards is a small, but important, step forward in dealing with this epidemic.