The dream of becoming a property owner could disappear because of this seemingly innocuous practice in the eyes of millions of French people.
On paper, everything is going well. The real estate sector is showing signs of recovery after months of crisis. Real estate rates are falling and banks are increasing attractive offers, a situation that many French people are seeking to take advantage of.
According to the French Banking Federation, loan requests have seen a spectacular increase of 46% in a few months. However, some loan applicants could see their hopes thwarted because of a habit particularly closely monitored by banking establishments: gambling.
Lotteries, slot machines, scratch games, PMU or other sports betting on the Internet: this practice, even occasional, which concerns millions of French people, can seriously compromise obtaining a property loan.
In an interview with Stop Jeu, a support platform against gaming addiction, Yasmina Al-Yassin, commercial director at the broker Empruntis, affirms that “the bank will track down all suspicious expenses which could betray the reliability of the profile borrower” when applying for a loan.
Gambling is one of these risky expenses likely to compromise obtaining credit. “The bank will mainly look at the recurrence and the importance of the amounts, but even very small amounts are problematic, because we know that gambling is an all-consuming addiction which worsens over time,” explains Yasmina Al-Yassin.
-However, it is appropriate to qualify these remarks. If the amount and frequency of gaming-related expenses have a considerable impact on the evaluation of applications, modest sums spaced over time, although carefully examined, are generally not enough on their own to invalidate a loan application. .
Whether online casinos, PMU or sports betting, banking establishments make no distinction between the different types of gambling. “The software that calculates the risk does not know the difference and has a very negative impact on your [profil emprunteur]”, underlines the commercial director.
However, the players are not definitively condemned. The months preceding a credit application are crucial and represent a real window of opportunity to redress the situation. Experts recommend a clean-up period of at least three months, during which it is strongly recommended to clean up your accounts.
This involves removing all unnecessary subscriptions, obviously ceasing all gambling activities and scrupulously avoiding non-essential spending. This period of “financial detox” not only allows you to improve your profile in the eyes of banking establishments, but also to demonstrate your ability to save and manage your budget healthily, two particularly valued criteria.
This is because gambling represents a real public health issue, which can lead to over-indebtedness, lowering of the standard of living, social isolation, family and professional problems. They can also have serious repercussions on nutritional balance and sleep and cause real psychological suffering.
