Nationwide Gambling Block

Nationwide is one of the largest financial institutions in the United Kingdom. The company describes itself not as a bank but as a building society, offering the best services to its users. For this reason, the institution features the so-called Nationwide gambling block, which helps clients manage their budgets and control their gambling activity.

The blocking tool is entirely free of charge and accessible to every member of Nationwide. In the next section, we’ll explain the main objective of this feature and will provide instructions on how everyone can activate it.

Why Nationwide Offers a Gambling Block?

According to the latest statistics, millions of Brits struggle with gambling addiction. For this reason, many financial institutions like Nationwide offer special features to help clients deal with this problem. Our research shows that the Nationwide block gambling option blocks all payments that fall into the category of gambling transactions.

Since this feature is free, all members can activate it without any trouble whenever they want. It’s suitable for customers who spend too much time at online casinos or sportsbooks. While the tool doesn’t prove a complete block of gambling sites, payment with Nationwide cards won’t be possible, which will result in the impossibility of funding your casino or betting balance.

How the Nationwide Gambling Block Works

Like other gambling blocks, this one also works by declining all payment requests identified as gambling transactions. If you activate the Nationwide Bank gambling block, you won’t be able to spend money on gambling companies. The restriction will apply to online payments as well as in-person transactions with your card.

According to our research, even if you’ve saved your Nationwide card details on a casino website, you won’t be able to fund your account after activating the feature. Moreover, even if you connect your card to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay, the card issuer will still decline all gambling transactions with these methods.

The bank recognises such payments via the MCCs (Merchant Category Codes) gambling companies use. However, if a brand uses the wrong MCC, Nationwide won’t block the payment, as the system won’t detect it as a gambling transaction.

Overview of Nationwide Gambling Block Feature

We’ve carefully reviewed the specifics of the Nationwide gambling restrictions, and our findings show that there’s currently only one way to block gambling transactions. You can do this by manually activating the feature through your banking app. It costs nothing, and you can keep it active for as long as you need to. It’s available to all Nationwide customers.

How to Activate Nationwide Gambling Block

If you’re not sure how to block gambling on Nationwide, we encourage you to check out our guide. The process is quick and easy, but some new customers may need further instructions. Below, you can find all of the steps you need to follow. Please note that once you activate the feature, it will start working immediately, and you won’t be able to deactivate it before the end of the cooling-off period.

• Access the Nationwide App:
  The first step is to download the Nationwide banking app and log into your account. Then, click the Manage Cards button and select the card on which you wish to impose restrictions.
• Learn More about the Gambling Block:
  At the bottom, you’ll see a button that says Gambling. In the What Do We Block section, you can learn more about the specifics of the gambling block and what it does.
• Activate the Gambling Block:
  When you are fully familiar with the characteristics of the tool, go back to the previous page and click on the toggle next to “Gambling”. Once you confirm your request, the block will become active.

Alternative Gambling Blocks

British gamblers who don’t have an account with Nationwide but with another bank can explore the availability of gambling blocks. In the list below, we’ve provided information about several alternatives to the Nationwide gambling block that are just as effective. All of them are free of charge. We advise you to consider the cooling-off period of every option before activating it.

1. Santander gambling block
2. NatWest gambling block
3. HSBC gambling block
4. Halifax gambling block
5. Lloyds bank gambling block

Conclusion: Is It Worth to Block Gambling at Nationwide?

This gambling block is a great pick for gamblers, as it’s not associated with long exclusion periods, and users can deactivate it at any time. Its cooling-off period is just 72 hours. One of its best features is that it works for online casinos in the UK not listed with GamStop, allowing you to block transactions with such operators. The lack of fee is another considerable perk.