GamStop self exclusion: how it works

What is self exclusion in gambling?

GamStop self exclusion builds on a simple idea. Self exclusion is when you ask a gambling company to stop you gambling with it for a set period. During that time it must close or block your account, refuse new accounts in your name and stop sending you marketing. Every UK licensed casino offers it for its own site, for six months or more.

The weakness of self exclusion at one casino is that there are hundreds of others. If you self exclude from one, you can open an account somewhere else in minutes. GamStop self exclusion fixes that by covering all of them at once.

How does GamStop work?

GamStop is run by a not-for-profit company and costs nothing to use. It works in three steps.

1. Register. Fill in the form on the GamStop website with your name, date of birth, email address, phone number and postcode or address.
2. Choose a period. Pick 6 months, 1 year or 5 years.
3. Operators block you. Every online gambling business licensed by the Gambling Commission has to check its customers against GamStop. When your details match, it must stop you logging in to play, opening a new account or receiving marketing.

Taking part has been a licence condition for all online operators since March 2020, so the block covers casinos, betting sites, bingo, poker and online lottery products from licensed companies. The exclusion can take up to 24 hours to work across every site, so if you are in a difficult moment, use a casino's own time-out as well while it starts.

Give GamStop every email address and phone number you have used for gambling, and any previous addresses. Operators match on those details, so the more you give, the harder it is for an account to slip through.

How long does GamStop last?

As long as you choose: 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. There is no shorter option, because short breaks are what casino time-outs are for. If you are not sure, many people choose a longer period than they think they need. The point is to make the decision once, while you are thinking clearly.

When the period ends, GamStop does not lift the exclusion on its own. It stays in place until you contact GamStop and ask for it to be removed. That gives you a second chance to decide whether you really want to go back to gambling.

Can you remove GamStop?

Not before the period ends. Searches for how to remove GamStop, or how to come off GamStop early, are common, and the answer is always the same: the exclusion cannot be cancelled early, by you or by GamStop. That rule is the reason it works. A block you can switch off in the evening is not a block.

If you feel the urge to get around GamStop, that is a strong sign the exclusion is doing its job. The National Gambling Helpline is free on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day, and can talk it through with you.

What GamStop does not cover

• Land-based gambling. Betting shops, bingo halls, arcades and casinos have separate schemes. MOSES covers betting shops and SENSE covers land-based casinos, and you arrange them separately.
• Unlicensed offshore sites. They are outside UK rules, which is exactly why some advertise themselves as "not on GamStop". Blocking software is the answer here.
• Gambling with friends or anything that is not run by a licensed operator.

Why "not on GamStop" casinos are a red flag

Search for GamStop and you will see pages listing casinos that are not on GamStop. They are not licensed in Great Britain. They have no duty to check your age properly, test their games, offer limits or settle disputes fairly, and they are marketed to the people who have chosen to block gambling. Some take crypto, so payments are hard to trace and impossible to reverse. We do not list or link to them, and we would urge anyone on GamStop not to use them.

Add more layers around GamStop

GamStop works best as one of several blocks.

Bank gambling blocks. Monzo, Starling, Revolut and most high-street banks let you block payments to gambling companies in their app. Turning the block off again usually takes a waiting period. See our Monzo and Revolut pages for how their blocks work.

Blocking software. Tools such as Gamban and BetBlocker stop gambling sites and apps loading on your devices, including unlicensed ones that GamStop cannot reach.

Support. The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is free and open 24/7 on 0808 8020 133. Talking to someone makes the block easier to keep.

How to self exclude from gambling in one afternoon

If you have decided to stop, you can put every layer in place in an hour or two. Here is the order we suggest to self exclude from gambling as fully as possible.

1. Register with GamStop and choose the longest period you are comfortable with.
2. Switch on the gambling block in each of your banking apps, including any card you rarely use.
3. Install blocking software on your phone, tablet and computer.
4. If you have open casino accounts, withdraw any balance and use each casino's own self-exclusion as well, so those accounts are closed directly.
5. If you also bet in shops or visit venues, arrange the land-based schemes for those.
6. Tell someone you trust what you have done, or call the National Gambling Helpline.

Each of these gambling self exclusion schemes covers a different gap. Together they make it very hard to gamble on impulse, which is the point. Most of them cost nothing.

If you want to cut down rather than stop

GamStop is for a complete break. If you want to keep playing but with tighter control, every UK casino must offer deposit limits, reality checks and time-outs from 24 hours to six weeks. Our responsible gambling page explains how each one works and where to find it. If those tools stop working for you, GamStop is there.

GamStop: FAQ