Whether a deposit succeeds depends on the specific payment channel used and the transaction code assigned by the merchant, rather than a single blanket rule across the banking system.
How Revolut’s In-App Gambling Block Operates
Revolut includes a dedicated gambling block feature inside its mobile app. When an account holder opens a new account, this feature remains disabled by default.
Activating the switch turns on the restriction immediately. The control specifically screens card payments, defined by Revolut as transactions executed using card details. When the app identifies a card payment suspected to be for gambling purposes, it declines the transaction at checkout.
Turning the restriction off involves a mandatory cooling-off window. Revolut specifies that disabling the gambling block can take up to 48 hours to take effect, a mechanism designed to prevent the immediate resumption of card-based gambling transactions.
Merchant Category Codes and Screening Limits
Payment networks rely on four-digit merchant category codes, known as MCCs, to classify commercial transactions. Revolut’s gambling block uses these codes to identify and decline transfers directed to businesses registered under betting, gaming, or wagering classifications.
The automated filter is not absolute. Revolut’s documentation states that merchants use merchant category codes to classify purchases, but if companies use different codes to hide gambling services, the in-app tool will not be able to prevent those transactions.
Card transactions linked to correctly coded gambling merchants fail automatically once the block is switched on. However, the block applies strictly to transactions initiated with card numbers, expiry dates, and security codes.
Irish Legal Restrictions on Credit-Funded Betting
Statutory gambling law in Ireland establishes rules that apply regardless of a customer's individual banking preferences. The Government of Ireland announced on 3 February 2026 that the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland would begin issuing licences under legislation that explicitly prohibits the use of credit cards as a means of payment for gambling.
This statutory ban reaches beyond standard credit card swipes. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland states that the prohibition covers the use of credit cards for gambling, gaming, or betting, as well as electronic payment methods funded by credit cards.
As a statutory body responsible for licensing and regulating gambling services in Ireland, the authority oversees compliance across all commercial gambling operators in the state. Licensed operators face regulatory enforcement if they accept credit-backed funding mechanisms from Irish customers.
Operator Obligations and the National Exclusion Register
Payment restrictions in Ireland operate across distinct layers: the consumer banking app, the operator's checkout system, and the state regulatory structure.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland is responsible for administering the National Gambling Exclusion Register for licensed online gambling websites operating in Ireland. Guidance from Citizens Information confirms that if a person is registered on this central exclusion list, a licensed gambling body cannot accept a payment for gambling from them.
This statutory restriction places the compliance burden squarely on the licensed operator. Even if an account holder has the gambling block turned off in their Revolut settings, a licensed Irish betting operator is legally prohibited from processing deposits from an individual on the national register.
Technical Gaps in Transfer Methods and Open Banking
While Revolut’s in-app feature targets card transactions, its help documentation states that the gambling block does not affect standard bank transfers or payments made through third-party apps.
Official publications from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland do not state whether specific open-banking transfers or account-to-account payment systems fall under the same screening rules as card payments. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has not published formal guidance naming Revolut, detailing open-banking deposits, or cataloguing specific merchant category codes used across the industry.
Whether licensed Irish betting sites accept Revolut cards, Revolut Pay, or direct bank transfers depends on the individual operator's technical setup. The existing rules confirm that Revolut's built-in block terminates at the card network boundary, leaving direct account-to-account transfers outside the app's internal gambling filter.