Credit Score Basics > Does Sky Poker report to the credit reference agencies?

Does Sky Poker report to the credit reference agencies?

Wollit Team2 minute read · Updated 18th September 2024

Sky Poker is a well-known online poker site in the UK. While it doesn’t report your activity to the credit reference agencies, indirect effects from gambling-related debts can affect your ability to secure loans. Here is how it works.

Why doesn’t Sky Poker report to the credit agencies?

Sky Poker does not report user activities to UK credit reference agencies. This means that any deposits, withdrawals, or gambling behaviour will not show up on your credit report. According to Sky Poker’s privacy policies and user discussions, they mainly check for identity verification and affordability but do not affect your credit score.

Sky Poker does not report because gambling is considered entertainment rather than borrowing money. Unlike loans or credit agreements that come with repayment terms, gambling transactions are seen as personal spending and do not impact your credit report.

Here are some factors that can affect your credit score instead:

How consistently you’re paying bills on time.
Your total amount of debt you have compared to your total available credit.
How long you’ve had credit accounts open.
How many different types of credit (like loans and credit cards) you have.
And even if you’re registered to vote.

Gambling is not one of these. However, it can still affect how lenders see you, although indirectly.

How can gambling affect how lenders see me?

While gambling itself does not appear on your credit report, it can still affect your finances in other ways:

If gambling causes you to miss payments on bills or loans, those missed payments will hurt your credit score.
If you borrow money to gamble and cannot pay it back, this can again hurt your credit score. And depending where you borrow from, also your knees.
When applying for loans or mortgages, lenders often look at your bank statements. Frequent gambling transactions may raise red flags about your financial habits.
If you use credit cards for gambling without paying them off quickly, this can increase your debt and lower your score.

However, as long as you keep your gambling and online poker habits under control, you should be fine. At the end of the day, what lenders care most about is your credit history.

Luckily, now there are many apps that can help you build and improve credit.

One such app is Wollit. Wollit is an app that reports your monthly subscription as loan repayment, helping you build a history of timely repayments without the risk of getting hit with high-interest charges or going over your card limit. It can even report your monthly rent payment to Experian, adding another line in your credit report that shows lenders you're responsible and pay your bills on time.