Last checked at 
* Ban follows government review launched last year
* 22% of online gamblers are 'problem gamblers' - commission
* Betting companies' shares fall
(Adds details)
LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Britain's 24 million adult
gamblers will not be able to use credit cards to make bets under
a new rule designed to prevent consumers from building up too
much debt, sending shares in betting companies sharply lower.
The Gambling Commission said on Tuesday the ban, which comes
into effect on April 14, will apply to all online and offline
gambling products apart from over-the-counter lottery tickets.
Research by the commission classes 22% of online gamblers
who use credit cards as "problem gamblers".
The move follows a government overview of the industry
launched in November which was aimed at overhauling online
casinos, including a ban on using credit cards for gambling
online aimed at vulnerable people.
"Credit card gambling can lead to significant financial
harm. The ban that we have announced today should minimise the
risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not
have," said Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive.
British betting companies are also struggling with the
government's clampdown on high-speed slot machines, which
critics have called the "crack cocaine" of gambling.
At 0835 GMT, 888 Holdings shares were down 3.5% at
their lowest since August, Flutter Entertainment
shares were down 1.2% and William Hill was down 2.5%.
Of Britain's estimated 24 million adult gamblers, around
10.5 million gamble online, the commission said. UK Finance
estimates around 800,000 Britons use credit cards to gamble.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft and Josephine Mason; editing
by Kate Holton and Mark Potter)
