Gambling support

How we can support you

You can see a breakdown of where your money goes every month by using our spending insights tool. This will show you the amount and frequency of your spending at all retailers. It may help you to see if your gambling spend is manageable or not.

Freeze or limit your gambling payments

If you have a debit card, you can use the mobile banking app to turn on a gambling freeze. This instantly blocks payments to gambling retailers. We do not allow gambling type transactions on credit cards.

If you want to remove this freeze, it will take 48 hours for the removal to come into effect.

You can also use the mobile banking app to limit how much you allow yourself to spend with gambling retailers each month.

Freeze or limit payments

Take control

You can reduce the gambling content you see by stopping unwanted emails and texts. You can also change the feed on your social media accounts to reduce seeing this type of content. The Gambling Commission will help you understand how you can make these changes.

Control gambling content

Contact us

It may not feel easy to talk about gambling but we can offer confidential support and a range of tools that might make things easier for you.

  • Switch to a cash machine only card – this can help with your gambling if you use your card but you’ll only be able to use it for cash withdrawals.
  • Set up a bills only account – this will give you confidence to know that you have funds set aside to cover your priority bills.
  • Stop limit increases – we can stop automatic limit increases on your credit card account to limit access to additional funds.
  • Representative access – if you prefer, you can nominate someone you trust to manage your finances.

If you think you need some help, you can message us online, visit your local branch or call us on 0345 300 0000. Lines are open 8am to 6pm, 7 days a week. Closed on bank holidays.

Let’s look at the details

  • Each time you use your debit card, the type of transaction is recorded. When you apply a freeze, we’ll block any transactions attempted from gambling merchants. This freeze will not apply to direct debit or bank transfers.

    If the retailer doesn’t define the transaction as a gambling related payment, or the retailer hasn’t requested a pre-authorisation with us first, we may not be able to stop it, even if you believe it to be gambling related.

    Payments made into your account like winnings or refunds will not be affected by a gambling freeze.

    If you report your card lost or stolen, you’ll need to turn your freeze back on when you get your replacement card.

    How do I turn it off?

    To turn the freeze off, just toggle off in the app. You won’t need to call us. Once you’ve done this, we’ll remove the freeze after 48 hours. If you change your mind you can toggle back on during this period.

    Card freezes

  • You can set a monthly gambling limit on your debit card as a way for you to control how much you are spending on gambling. Once you reach your limit, any more attempts to make gambling transactions with your debit card, will be blocked. Once you reach your monthly limit, no further gambling transactions will be approved. This applies to any online or in-person transactions defined by the retailer as ‘gambling’.

    If the transaction is not defined by the retailer as gambling, or the retailer hasn’t requested a pre-authorisation from us first, we may not be able to stop it – even if you think it’s gambling related.

    Your limit will renew on the first day of each month.

    You can manage your limit or remove it altogether in the mobile banking app. Just make sure you select ‘Save Limit’ once you have made your changes.

    It’s worth remembering that changes update straight away. Your limit will instantly renew if you change it or remove it and reinstate it. So any gambling payments you've already made that month won't be included in that month's limit.

    If you report your debit card lost or stolen, you’ll need to re-set your limit when you get your replacement card.

How we've helped our customers

Talking about gambling is not always straightforward. When Peter, one of our trained advisors, noticed that one of our customers was spending most of their wages on gambling websites, he took the time to encourage the customer to talk about it.

The customer found it a great relief to talk with someone who was offering support, rather than judgement. As a result, the customer chose to change their debit card to a cash card, which removed the option of gambling online.

Peter also passed on details for GambleAware, sharing the number for the confidential helpline and enabling the customer to contact them from the privacy of the branch.

The customer can now see a positive way forward, and is grateful for the practical and discreet way the issue was dealt with.

Calls and online sessions may be monitored and recorded. Not all Telephone Banking services are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Calls and online sessions may be monitored and recorded. Not all Telephone Banking services are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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We may monitor or record telephone calls to check out your instructions correctly and to help us improve the quality of our service. Calls from abroad are charged according to the telephone service provider’s published tariff. Not all Telephone Banking services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please speak to an adviser for more information.