Visa and Mastercard rules update for AU gambling
1. Legislative Context (Australia)
From June 11, 2024, the law prohibits the use of credit cards, funds tied to them (including digital wallets), and cryptocurrency for online betting in Australia - regardless of platform (online or phone) and type of gambling product (except lotteries).
2. The role of Visa and Mastercard
Visa and Mastercard have not introduced separate rules for Australia - they operate within global standards. However, their interbank standards (Mastercard Rules, June 2025) mention gambling transactions (Gaming Payment Transactions), tokenization, AML (anti-money laundering) and Merchant Registration rules.
Although these domestic standards do not contain specific restrictions for Australia, global networks follow the national laws of each market. Therefore, restrictions at the legal level make the use of credit cards for gambling automatically inaccessible, even if card rules do not directly prohibit this.
3. Actions of payment networks and regulators
Banks and payment platforms in Australia are required to block credit card transactions related to gambling in accordance with the law.
Visa and Mastercard have not yet introduced independent bans, but they support the technical ability to control MCC codes (geographical and segment restrictions), tokenization and transaction restriction (for example, disabling MCC-7995) are built-in capabilities of their standards.
At the same time, the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) proposes the abolition of surcharges for card transactions - both for debit and credit - as well as the reduction and transparency of interchange fees, which will help simplify payments in general.
4. Impact on players and industry
Players in Australia are already deprived of the ability to use credit cards to bet - the law is "blocked" at the legislative level.
Casinos and payment providers must exclude the possibility of deposits from credit cards, otherwise they violate the law.
The payment system is awaiting reforms (abolition of surcharges, reduction of interchange), which will generally facilitate access to legal payment methods - debit and eWallet - at lower costs.
5. Conclusions
Updated Visa and Mastercard rules affect the technical infrastructure (tokenization, AML, classification of operations), but the main driver of changes is Australian legislation prohibiting credit cards for betting.
Visa and Mastercard are not against gambling transactions as such, but their global technologies allow them to adapt to the requirements of national markets.
For gamblers, it's important: a credit card is no longer a casino deposit option in Australia, and RBA reforms make other payment methods - debit, prepayment, PayID - more profitable and transparent.
From June 11, 2024, the law prohibits the use of credit cards, funds tied to them (including digital wallets), and cryptocurrency for online betting in Australia - regardless of platform (online or phone) and type of gambling product (except lotteries).
2. The role of Visa and Mastercard
Visa and Mastercard have not introduced separate rules for Australia - they operate within global standards. However, their interbank standards (Mastercard Rules, June 2025) mention gambling transactions (Gaming Payment Transactions), tokenization, AML (anti-money laundering) and Merchant Registration rules.
Although these domestic standards do not contain specific restrictions for Australia, global networks follow the national laws of each market. Therefore, restrictions at the legal level make the use of credit cards for gambling automatically inaccessible, even if card rules do not directly prohibit this.
3. Actions of payment networks and regulators
Banks and payment platforms in Australia are required to block credit card transactions related to gambling in accordance with the law.
Visa and Mastercard have not yet introduced independent bans, but they support the technical ability to control MCC codes (geographical and segment restrictions), tokenization and transaction restriction (for example, disabling MCC-7995) are built-in capabilities of their standards.
At the same time, the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) proposes the abolition of surcharges for card transactions - both for debit and credit - as well as the reduction and transparency of interchange fees, which will help simplify payments in general.
4. Impact on players and industry
Players in Australia are already deprived of the ability to use credit cards to bet - the law is "blocked" at the legislative level.
Casinos and payment providers must exclude the possibility of deposits from credit cards, otherwise they violate the law.
The payment system is awaiting reforms (abolition of surcharges, reduction of interchange), which will generally facilitate access to legal payment methods - debit and eWallet - at lower costs.
5. Conclusions
Updated Visa and Mastercard rules affect the technical infrastructure (tokenization, AML, classification of operations), but the main driver of changes is Australian legislation prohibiting credit cards for betting.
Visa and Mastercard are not against gambling transactions as such, but their global technologies allow them to adapt to the requirements of national markets.
For gamblers, it's important: a credit card is no longer a casino deposit option in Australia, and RBA reforms make other payment methods - debit, prepayment, PayID - more profitable and transparent.
