British people have been banned from using credit cards to fund an online casino account. The corresponding decision was made by the UK Gaming Commission, reports Reuters. The ban will come into effect on April 14, 2020.

The new law will affect approximately 800,000 UK residents who use credit cards for gambling. According to the regulator, about a quarter of them (about 200,000 people) are addicted to gambling. It is worth noting that the ban will not affect deposits at online casinos with debit bank cards. The legislators' logic is to ban gamblers from gambling on credit.

"We will not hesitate to take any action to protect citizens from the potential harm of gambling," UK Culture Secretary Helen Waitey said.

The announcement has already weighed on the operator's share price. Due to new government requirements, the value of securities of online casino operatorsWilliam Hill,888Casino,PokerStars and other well-known British companies fell by 0.9-2.5%.

This is not the first restrictive measure in relation to online casinos. Earlier, the authoritiesannounced their intention to reduce the maximum bet in slot machines to two pounds sterling. The authorities said that too high stakes exacerbate the problems of people with gambling addiction. Later, information appeared that the regulatoris considering the possibility ofbanning VIP accounts in online casinos.