Do Online Pokies Playing Affect My Credit?

We see this question a lot and it is one that has always surprised us. It seems like a no-brainer to us, but the more we looked into it, the more we realized that this is a common question, and that it is not as crazy as it sounds.

Can Online Casinos see my Credit Rating?

No. It’s as simple as that. This is a smaller part of the bigger question, but it is still one we see a lot of and one that has no basis in truth. No self-respecting credit report company, bank or loan company would hand such information over to an online casino, and if yours does, then there’s a good chance you can sue them.

Do Online Casinos Release Information to Creditors?

Let’s be honest, when it comes to the question of whether pokies can affect credit ratings or not, the issue is not with the pokies you find in land-based casinos, hotels, clubs or pubs, but with the ones online. There is a somewhat archaic and conspiratory belief that when it comes to the internet, everyone is out to screw you. There are people who believe that online casinos let creditors trawl their sites, as we shall discuss in more detail soon.

To put it simply though, this does not happen. The online casinos have to abide by their terms and conditions and by their privacy polices. All sites have these, us included, and unless you find one that openly says, “We will give your details away to anyone who asks” then you can take legal proceedings against them. Hell, such an inclusion in a privacy policy would be so unique and so outlandish that you could probably still sue them even if they did forewarn you about such a thing.

Can Creditors see my Online Gambling Habits?

This is the question that you should be asking, and when you do, you begin to realize just how absurd the original question seems. There is no way for your creditors to see how much or little you gamble, just as there is no way for them to see how many gambling sites you are a part of. There are some people who believe that loan companies trawl the gambling sites to find your name and address, before putting a big black mark next to your name if they find you there. This is not the case though.

Not only is there no real way for them to do this (gambling sites are not in the habit of disclosing personal details about their members) but even if they did, so what? Owning a gambling account does not prove that you are a bad person to give a loan to. Even if they could find your details on a gambling site, there is no way of them knowing if you are a regular gambler who bets more than he can afford and spends all-day-every-day in an online casino, or if you’re someone who only joined to use a free bet and play a few slots.

That’s not to suggest that regular gamblers have bad credit. As an example, we have a fantastic credit report. We have no debts at all and never had. We always pay off our credit cards, have never missed a monthly bill and have never avoided or delayed any sudden bill. We’re not hugely wealthy, but we have enough to live comfortably and to be free of debt. At the same time, if you were possessed of the abilities that some gamblers think creditors have, then you would find our details on over 100 different gambling sites, from poker rooms and online casinos, to betting exchanges, sports books and more. You would also discover that no major sport event goes by without us betting on it, that no weekend passes without a game of blackjack, roulette or poker. If you think that that means loan companies, credit card companies and mortgage companies would refuse us, then try telling that to the heaps of junk mail we get trying to hand big loans and high limit cards to us.

Online Gambling and your Credit Rating

The main reason behind the spread of this question and of those that believe it to be true, is that few people understand how online gambling and your credit rating works. We have already discussed how the people who control your credit rating and the people who study it have no interest in whether you gamble or not, just as we have already discussed how online casinos need to abide by their privacy polices.

To look at it from a different angle though, you need to know how your credit rating works. Basically, every time you accumulate a debt, it is added to your credit rating. You will be warned about this when offered a loan, credit card or mortgage. Also, every time you apply for a mortgage or a loan, it will also be added to your credit rating. Again though, you will be warned about this in advance, and if you ask for shop credit inshore or for a loan over the phone, before they take the necessary steps to process it, they will stop and read from a list of pre-written terms that explains this to you in full.

When these loans, credit cards and mortgages are added, they will be there for everyone to see as soon as you apply for anything with them. However, most of these applications are automated and the only thing that they will pay attention to is your actual credit score, which says whether your rating is bad, okay or great, and they tend not to focus on any of the finer details.