GamStop is the national online self-exclusion scheme for Great Britain. It is a single register that every UK Gambling Commission licensee must consult before allowing an account to gamble. When a person's details are on the register, licensed operators are required to block their access — refuse account openings, freeze existing accounts, and prevent gambling activity for the duration of the exclusion. This page explains, in practical terms, what the scheme does, how it is run, and where its remit ends.
Who runs GamStop
GamStop is delivered by The National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Limited, a not-for-profit company established specifically to operate the register. It is funded by the UK gambling industry through the Betting and Gaming Council and additional operator contributions. Governance sits with an independent board including regulatory, consumer-protection and clinical representatives. The scheme is not a government body, but it operates under a licence condition set by the UK Gambling Commission, which means participation is effectively mandatory for any operator licensed to serve the British market.
How registration works
Registration is free and takes about five minutes. The user provides name, date of birth, postcode, email address and mobile number, and selects an exclusion period of six months, one year or five years. The details are matched against the databases of participating operators using fuzzy matching to catch slight variations. Once activated, any existing accounts are frozen and new registrations are blocked. Marketing communications must also stop, though this last obligation is only fully effective at the licensed operators — third parties may continue if their data was collected separately.
What GamStop does — and what it does not
GamStop reliably blocks the sites it is designed to block: every UK-licensed online gambling operator. It does not block offshore casinos, sports-betting sites licensed only outside the UK, or land-based venues. It does not stop a determined user from buying scratchcards, entering a betting shop, or accessing a friend's device. It is a targeted friction measure, not a universal block, and its effectiveness depends on its coverage of the sites the user would otherwise access.
Important
Non GamStop casinos are, by definition, sites that GamStop does not block. This is not a bug in the scheme — it is a jurisdictional limit that has been present since day one. Anyone considering an offshore site while GamStop-registered should read our page on player-safety trade-offs before proceeding.
The exclusion period and reversal
Once an exclusion period is activated, it cannot be shortened. At the end of the selected period, the user must actively request that their exclusion be lifted; it does not lapse automatically. Even after a lift request, there is a 24-hour cooling-off period before the register is updated. These frictions are deliberate. Research on relapse patterns in gambling harm consistently shows that impulsive access is a key trigger, and every added step reduces the population-level rate of relapse.
Interaction with bank blocks and device blocks
GamStop works best as one layer in a multi-layer approach. Most UK retail and challenger banks offer a gambling block that customers can activate themselves, typically with a 24- to 48-hour cooling-off period before the block can be removed. Device-level blocking software such as GAMBAN or BetBlocker adds another layer at the browser or app level. Combined with GamStop, these three layers create meaningful friction against relapse — none is bulletproof individually, but together they are substantially more effective than any single measure.
Data protection under GamStop
GamStop holds only the minimum data required to operate the register: identifying details, contact information, and the exclusion period. It is a UK-based data controller subject to UK GDPR and the Information Commissioner's Office. Users have the standard subject-access, correction and erasure rights, though erasure during an active exclusion period would defeat the purpose of registration and is not routinely granted.
Current policy debate
The Gambling Act review, initiated in 2020 and reflected in the 2023 White Paper, considered whether GamStop's scope should be expanded. Options discussed included: mandating payment-processor participation, so that card and e-wallet transactions to non-participating operators would be blocked at the acquirer; requiring internet service providers to block access to unlicensed sites; and creating a specific criminal offence for operators marketing to self-excluded UK residents. As of August 2026 none of these has been enacted at statute level, though industry and regulator conversations continue. Readers interested in the licensing side of this can follow up on our licensing landscape page.
When GamStop is the right choice
GamStop is designed as one intervention within a broader harm-reduction pathway. It is most effective when combined with GamCare or another support service, because the underlying triggers — financial pressure, isolation, untreated mental-health conditions — do not resolve themselves through blocking alone. Registration is a signal of intent, not a treatment plan. For anyone considering it, the sensible sequence is: speak with GamCare or a similar service; add bank-level blocks; add device-level blocks; then register with GamStop. Each layer supports the next.
Our responsible gambling page lists the free UK support services in more detail, including phone numbers and hours. If the situation feels urgent, the freephone National Gambling Helpline is 0808 8020 133, open 24 hours a day.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Registration is free of charge and there are no fees for renewal, extension or removal at the end of a period.
No. Exclusion periods cannot be shortened. At the end of the selected period, a lift request can be submitted, and a 24-hour cooling-off period applies before the register is updated.
No. GamStop covers UK-licensed online gambling operators only. National Lottery products purchased in-shop, land-based casinos and betting shops are outside its scope.
Whether a specific deposit clears depends on your bank's gambling block, the merchant category code of the transaction, and the acquiring bank. Many UK banks offer opt-in gambling blocks with a mandatory cooling-off period before removal.