The main Irish banks and Revolut will all block gambling payments on your card. Switching the block on takes a minute in some apps and a phone call at others; taking it off again is deliberately slow: between 48 hours and three working days, depending on the bank. That delay is the point. It puts time between an urge and a deposit.
A card block works best with two other barriers: software that blocks gambling sites and apps on your phone and laptop, and self-exclusion at any casino you have used. All three are below. This page has no casino links.
Steps and delays are taken from each provider’s own help pages, checked on 25 September 2026.
Bank and card blocks
| Provider | How to turn it on | What it covers | Taking it off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut | In the app: your profile icon → Security → Payments → Gambling block, then confirm | Card payments to gambling merchants | Takes up to 48 hours |
| PTSB | In the PTSB app: Manage Cards → Block Gambling Transactions | Debit and credit cards, including Apple Pay and Google Pay | A fixed 48-hour delay |
| AIB | Call 0818 227 056, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm | Debit and credit cards | Three working days after you ask |
| Bank of Ireland | Call 0818 200 423 or 01 250 0423, or use webchat (you need your Banking 365 PIN), Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm — have your 16-digit card number ready | Personal and business debit and credit cards; in-store, online, contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay | Up to two working days, and you can cancel the removal |
| EBS | Call 0818 300 107, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm | Debit card | Three days |
A few details that matter:
- Revolut keeps the block in the app only. It is off by default, and once it is on, card payments to gambling merchants stop immediately and the block “can’t be bypassed”. Revolut says it covers card payments, not bank transfers or payments made through third-party apps.
- PTSB applies the block instantly, card by card, at any hour in the app, and it carries over to new and replacement cards. PTSB says there is no way to shorten the 48-hour notice to remove it, but you can put the block back during that window. It is open to personal customers; business debit cards are not included.
- AIB also lists “apply a gambling block on your card” among the features of its mobile app. Its help page gives the phone route.
- Bank of Ireland takes up to two working days to put the block on as well as to take it off, and it moves across to a replacement card. On a personal credit card, only the main account holder can ask for it, and it then covers every card on that account. The bank texts you once a block is removed.
- EBS does not switch gambling off completely. It sets a very low limit on transactions it identifies as gambling, so anything above that limit is declined.
Using a bank that isn’t listed? The regulator notes that some banks call it a “card freeze” or “gambling restrictions”, and that a block can be set up in the app, by phone or in a branch, so search its help pages for all three names, or ask its support team. The regulator keeps its own summary of these tools on its protection tools page.
What a card block can’t catch
Every one of these blocks works the same way underneath. When you pay by card, the merchant’s payment is tagged with a category code, and gambling has its own. Visa’s rules require online gambling merchants to use code 7995 for all their transactions. The banks’ blocks look for the gambling codes.
That leaves gaps, and the banks say so themselves:
- A gambling business that files its payments under a different code can slip through: “not all gambling companies use gambling codes”, as Bank of Ireland puts it, and Revolut warns about the same thing.
- Bank transfers are not card payments. Revolut’s block does not cover them, and Bank of Ireland excludes Open Banking payments.
- Payments routed through another app or wallet may not be recognised as gambling.
So a card block raises the bar a long way, but it is not a wall. The next two steps close some of the gaps.
Block gambling sites and apps on your phone and computer
Gambling blocking software stops gambling websites and apps from opening at all, whatever you would pay with. Both apps below work on an iPhone and on Android phones, Samsung included.
BetBlocker is a free app to block gambling sites, run by a charity registered in Scotland. It works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone and Fire OS devices. You choose how long the block lasts, from a day to five years, and once it starts it cannot be lifted early. Choose two months or longer and it keeps running until you switch it off — then stays on for a further week’s cooling-off period. Details at betblocker.org.
Gamban blocks tens of thousands of gambling sites and apps on Android, iPhone and iPad, Mac and Windows, with one licence covering all your devices. It is a paid subscription with a seven-day trial. We found no Irish organisation offering it without charge. Details at gamban.com.
Put the software on every device you gamble from, a work laptop or a tablet at home included, or it only moves the problem.
Self-exclusion
- At each casino. Ask every site you have used to close your account or self-exclude you. Do this even with a bank block in place: an open account is an open door.
- Ireland’s national register is not open yet. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 provides for a National Gambling Exclusion Register that would exclude you from every operator the regulator licenses in one step. As of September 2026 the regulator describes it as future work and has not given a start date.
- GAMSTOP is a UK scheme. It is open to people living in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, and it blocks operators licensed in Great Britain. It is not open to people living in the Republic.
If you are doing this for someone else
These blocks are switched on from the cardholder’s own app or by the cardholder calling the bank. On a Bank of Ireland personal credit card, only the main account holder can ask. What you can do is help: sit with them while they switch on the block in their app or make the call, and help them install BetBlocker. The confidential national helpline, 1800 936 725, takes calls from people affected by a family member’s gambling, and so does Extern’s call-back line through problemgambling.ie.
More on support and limits is on our responsible gambling page.
Sources
Official pages, read on 25 September 2026: