Including gambling debts in a protected trust deed

4th November 2010

The number of people using credit cards to gamble on line has been increasing quickly in recent years. If you have a debt problem, we consider whether gambling will affect your ability to use debt management options such as a protected trust deed.

Trying to get out of debt can be difficult. One of the solutions chosen by some people to try and repay their debts is to attempt to win money by gambling.

Often this solution does not work. More often than not the debt problem becomes worse because credit cards are used to fund the gambling habit.

Eventually the only way to resolve the debt problem is to turn to a debt management solution such as a protected trust deed.

Gambling is not a crime

However, many people worry that they will not be able to use these solutions because their debts are in part (or sometimes largely) due to gambling.

In fact this view is incorrect. Gambling is not a crime and as such debts generated through gambling should really be seen as no different to debts generated in other ways.

As such, gambling debts which very often become end up as additional expenditure on credit cards can certainly be included in trust deeds.

The concern with gambling is therefore not that such debts are not legal or legitimate.

Controlling further gambling

The issue is that because gambling can become addictive, if you have gambled in the past, there could be the possibility that you will be tempted to do so again in the future.

If that were to happen while you are in a Scottish trust deed, it would mean that you would no longer be able to afford to make your monthly payments and the arrangement would be at risk of failing.

For this reason, if you have gambled in the past, before you start a trust deed you need to be sure that you will not gamble again. You may actually need to prove that you are no longer gambling.

Generally speaking one way to do this is to provide three months of bank statements showing no evidence of gambling.

If you have gambled within the last three months and want to do a trust deed you should discuss the matter directly with a trust deed company in advance of applying.

Speak to a debt advisor

It is rare to find an example of somebody who has successfully gambled their way out of debt. Generally speaking this strategy does not work.

If you are suffering with a debt problem, you are far better off speaking to a trust deed expert and considering the debt solutions open to you.

If you already have gambling debts, it is important to understand that you can still resolve the problem using a variety of solutions. You just need to be sure that you will not gamble again in the future and potentially be ready to show evidence that your gambling has stopped.

Contributed By: James Falla

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