Monzo has called on the UK Government to mandate the use of gambling access blocks on all UK bank accounts.

According to research by the University of Bristol, 50% of people who turned on a gambling block had spent less or no money since.

Monzo block up to 585,000 gambling transactions a month – that’s one or two attempted gambling transactions for every person who uses it.

Online gambling has grown rapidly in the UK, with 1 in 5 British people now gambling online regularly. This rise in new ways to gamble, and new ways to pay for gambling, pose a significant challenge to existing harm reduction tools. The Gambling Act review offers a fantastic opportunity to build a standardised, comprehensive framework of self exclusion tools to help the estimated 2 million people in the UK experiencing harm.

Ultimately, the Gambling Act review offers a unique opportunity to create a world-leading self exclusion framework in the UK to reduce gambling harms, and help consumers gain control of their finances. The rise in online gambling, and new ways to pay, requires a robust response from the Government. These small changes, in combination with other, existing self exclusion tools, would help the UK to create world leading harm reduction standards.