Earlier this month, Nationwide told its millions of members they will be able to block their own accounts for three days, or longer. The move comes after the world’s biggest building society conducted some research – which threw up some worrying trends.
The recent Nationwide survey discovered some 11% of people gamble everyday, with some 4% of those who place a bet regularly having lost £1,000 or more on a single gambling transaction over the past year. People who gamble, Nationwide added, lost an average of £351 each over the past twelve months.
Worryingly, a fifth of people said they wouldn’t seek help if they felt their gambling was becoming problematic. Nationwide has now moved to introduce a gambling block members can use to stop themselves putting bets on.
Once the block is activated, it won’t be able to be switched off for at least 72 hours, meaning those using it will not be able to place any bets for three days after deactivating it. This, Nationwide said, is a long enough time period to cover a weekend of sport.
Kathryn Townsend, head of customer vulnerability at Nationwide said: “It’s heartbreaking that one in five people wouldn’t go to anyone for help if their gambling became a problem. People need to know support is available, without judgement, should they need it. We made a conscious decision to offer a gambling block with a 72-hour cooling off period to support customers making decisions that are right for them.”