Happy to share what’s worked for me. A few key points to raise with your credit card company:
1. Credit card gambling ban — gambling transactions have been banned on UK-issued credit cards since April 2020. If it went through as a "purchase" rather than being blocked, that’s worth flagging directly.
2. Unlicensed operator = illegal — if the casino isn’t UKGC licensed, they’re not legally allowed to accept UK customers under s.33 Gambling Act 2005. Mention this explicitly, don’t just say "unlicensed."
3. Self-exclusion bypass is your strongest point — if you disclosed a gambling addiction or asked for account closure and they kept taking deposits anyway, lead with that. It shows a duty-of-care failure, not just "I don’t like this merchant" (which alone rarely wins with FOS).
4. Section 75 (Consumer Credit Act 1974) — for any single transaction over £100, you can claim under s.75, which makes the card company jointly liable, not just Visa/Mastercard chargeback rules.
5. Ask for a formal complaint reference — not just a "case," a proper complaint. That starts the clock for Financial Ombudsman Service escalation if they refuse (usually within 8 weeks if unresolved).
6. Send evidence in writing — emails where you asked to close your account or disclosed addiction, especially with dates. If you have the casino’s own transaction records too, even better — cross-reference them against your statement.
Good luck — keep pushing if they knock it back first time, it’s common to need FOS escalation before it actually resolves.
