Does ALL online gambling affect mortgage options?

Malkytheheed

I just found out that online gambling transactions can be / are negatively viewed by mortgage providers...

The thing is, I believe my use case is rather specific and actually finnancially prudent so hopefully isn't viewed negatively? 

Basically the only time I ever gamble is when I get one of those "Bet £10 get £50 free bets" welcome offers (they are everywhere, hundred of providers, constantly pushing adverts on instagram). I never ever bet beyond this initial offer as I know that the house wins, I never play the lottery, I never visit casinos. Gambling does nothing for me, no emotional response as I know finnancially the house always wins.

EXCEPT with these offers. I've done dozens of them and nearly always walk away "up". And never use that firm again afterwards. I've made well over a grand this year, just on welcome offer bets where the odds are (for once) actually stacked in my favour. It's basically free money in my eyes. But now I am worried that it will been seen negatively as I am remortgaging next year. The values im debiting are low, but they are frequent and to many many many different companies (different everytime).

Is it true they will view these transactions (even though I have more coming in than out) negatively. and if so, what are the thresholds? 

saajan_12

Yes. The problem is they cant dig in enough into the exact offers of 10s of transactions to see that it was a good deal. Ending up in the positive could financially savvy use of gambling offers or it could just be luck on a reckless gamble. The latter is more frequent, so that's what they would logically assume. 

From their perspective, it doesn't make sense to invest a ton of man hours investigating the nature of gambling transactions to almost always get the same answer as what they assumed. So it would generally be viewed negatively. If you're not close to the affordability criteria or it was low volume then it may not be enough of an issue - but they'll never publish such limits. 

If remortgaging with the same lender they may not re-check affordability. If likely to change lenders or nervous, I would just pause such transactions for 6 months or so - you must surely be running out of companies / offers by now! 

Malkytheheed

saajan_12 said:

you must surely be running out of companies / offers by now! 

God you would think but no! There are (worryingly) THOUSANDS of online gambling companies in the UK. because of my algorythm, every new instagram advert I get is a new company offering bet £x get £x free bets". Happy to pause it but does mean I'll be out of pocket probably 4 figures. 

Heck these are the ads I was served in just 5 mins scrolling IG last night. I feel really bad for those who struggle with gambling addiction, it's relentless. 

ACG

No! Gambling transactions are not a deal breaker. 

I always remember being sat with a lender who said they are more concerned about someone who bets 20p, 20p, 20p 20p, than they are someone who bets £200 every weekend. 

One looks like an addiction and chasing the money, the other looks like you put a bet on for the football each weekend. 

If you are doing 2-3 of these a week it is more likely to be a problem than if you are doing 1 a week or less. 

However, the way you describe it, I do not think it will be a problem with any lender. Especially if you are only spending £10 of your own money. Again, if you were going into overdrafts etc, it might be different. 

You should be fine from what you have said. If you are worried though, speak to a broker. They will help navigate the stricter lenders. 

Emmia

Malkytheheed said:

saajan_12 said:

you must surely be running out of companies / offers by now! 

God you would think but no! There are (worryingly) THOUSANDS of online gambling companies in the UK. because of my algorythm, every new instagram advert I get is a new company offering bet £x get £x free bets". Happy to pause it but does mean I'll be out of pocket probably 4 figures. 

Heck these are the ads I was served in just 5 mins scrolling IG last night. I feel really bad for those who struggle with gambling addiction, it's relentless. 

But my insta feed has no gambling ads at all. It's dependent on what you engage with.

Mine is mostly full of dog / cat / rabbit / guinea pig videos. Despite the fact I'm allergic to the furry things.

kingstreet

If you are actually remortgaging, try to reduce your gambling in the three month run-up to the application.

If doing a product transfer with existing lender, this isn't an issue to stress over as no new checks are made.