Charities fear the ban will affect fundraising

Society lotteries will be banned from taking online credit card payments in line with new gambling legislation.

New guidance published by the Gambling Commission was announced on 14 January outlining the move despite third sector groups arguing for an exemption to take place for society – or good cause – lotteries.

The ban applies to both new and existing customers and for both lottery subscriptions and one-off entries.

Debit card payments are still accepted as a payment method.

David Griffiths, chair of the Hospice Lotteries Association, said: “Our big concern is that they have taken out a method of payment that is among the most secure available, without citing any evidence that there is a specific problem with remote society lotteries.

“We have socially responsible limits in place for charity lotteries established by the Gambling Act, at or around 5 x £1 players a week. We believe society lottery are much lower-risk compared to other forms of gambling and are not as obviously attractive to those with gambling problems.

“Finally, there has been a big focus on credit cards and little scope or recognition for other types of lending, such as payday loans or unregulated loans. We believe credit providers are better placed than gambling operators to deal with the gambling overspending on a much more organic level.”