GAMSTOP explained: what it blocks, and what it cannot

What GAMSTOP is

GAMSTOP is the free online self-exclusion scheme for Great Britain, run by an independent company rather than by the casinos. Since 31 March 2020, every operator holding a Gambling Commission remote licence has had to take part as a condition of that licence.

When you register with GAMSTOP, your details go onto a register that every licensed company checks, so it blocks any account that matches. That covers casinos, bookmakers, bingo and poker sites, and it includes the ten daily-prize casinos reviewed on this site. All ten of their licensees appear on the participating operator list GAMSTOP published on 2 September 2026.

This is how GAMSTOP describes its service. The wording is deliberate, so it is worth reading each part of it slowly:

"Licensed in Great Britain" is the limit. The scheme only reaches companies the Gambling Commission licenses, because the Commission makes membership a condition of those licences. It does not reach anything else, and the section on what it misses defines what that means.

By GAMSTOP's own count, more than half a million people have registered. Some want to stop for good. Others register for a fixed break to save money or to get through their studies, and the scheme's own pages present both uses as normal.

How GAMSTOP works, step by step

Registration is fast. The block usually goes live within a day, and after that the scheme runs while you take a back seat.

1. You register with your details. Name, date of birth, home address and postcode, your main email, plus every other email address, telephone number and address you have ever used at a gambling site. The terms ask for all of them because the matching is done on those details.
2. GAMSTOP checks your identity. Your primary email is verified by a link, and your identity is then checked through TransUnion or Onfido. If neither is able to verify you, the contact centre asks for official ID before the registration completes.
3. Operators check the register. Each licensed operator checks with GAMSTOP whenever anyone logs in, opens an account or tries to use one. GAMSTOP confirms the match and the operator must block you.
4. The block is activated. GAMSTOP says it activates most self-exclusions within 24 hours, but it cannot guarantee this. How quickly a given casino applies the block depends on that casino's systems.

Two things matter more than they initially seem to. First, a match is only as good as the data. GAMSTOP's terms say the service "may not be able to spot inaccuracies or other differences" in what you gave it, so an old email address or a previous postcode left out of the form will be a gap. Second, any inaccuracies in the details you provide can be corrected at any time from your GAMSTOP account, and the terms say that keeping them current is your responsibility.

What GAMSTOP blocks

After you register with GAMSTOP, every participating operator follows the same process. This comes from the Gambling Commission's code as much as from GAMSTOP, which is why it is consistent between casinos.

Existing accounts are closed The Commission's code tells licensees to close the account of anyone who has self-excluded. Freezing withdrawals while still taking bets is named in the code as not good enough.

Withdrawable balances come back The operator has to return the money in the account. GAMSTOP's terms say the same thing from the other side: returning funds is the operator's job, and the method depends on the operator.

New accounts are refused Sign-ups in your details are blocked at every participating operator, including companies that get their licence after you registered.

Marketing stops within two days Licensees must take you off their marketing lists within two days of the notification. Sky Betting and Gaming's help page repeats the same two-day promise in its own words.

Daily prizes end with the account Prize wheels, reels and picks are features of an open account. When the account closes, the daily claim closes with it, and any prize held as bonus balance goes too.

Every brand in the group Matching is on your details, so sister brands under one licensee go together. GAMSTOP's list shows Coral with Ladbrokes and Gala, Sky Vegas with Sky Bet, Paddy Power with Betfair, and Monopoly Casino with Virgin Games and Jackpotjoy.

What GAMSTOP does not block

GAMSTOP's own terms say it "cannot and do not guarantee" that you will always be denied access. Each of the gaps is predictable, and each one has a separate tool built for it.

• Betting shops. GAMSTOP Online covers websites and applications. High-street bookmakers have their own scheme, GAMSTOP Betting Shops, which can be contacted free on 0800 294 2060.
• National Lottery draw games. Allwyn appears on the participating list for "National Lottery Instant Win Games only". Draw tickets are not covered by the scheme.
• Sites that hold no Gambling Commission licence. The scheme can only instruct licensees. That is the sole reason its own pages recommend adding bank blocks and blocking software rather than relying on the register alone.
• Payment methods. GAMSTOP never touches your bank card. A block you set up with your bank stops that card being used at gambling sites, and every major UK bank now offers one. Our bank gambling block guide lists them with their respective cooling-off periods.
• Details that do not match. A new phone number, an altered surname or an address you did not include can leave an account unmatched. Update the register when your details change.
• Someone using your details. The scheme blocks accounts in your own details. GAMSTOP's pages describe partners registering themselves so that their own details cannot be borrowed, which is the intended fix.

Layer it GAMSTOP's tools page says the scheme "is especially powerful when it's combined with other services": GAMSTOP Betting Shops, bank blocks, blocking software such as Gamban and BetBlocker (both free for UK residents), and the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.

The scheme is candid about its limits Its terms read: "GAMSTOP is a tool to help you avoid online and other forms of remote gambling. We cannot and do not guarantee that GAMSTOP will always result in you being denied access to a Gambling Operator or gambling activity."

Which tool blocks what

Bank cooling-off times are from GamCare's bank-by-bank table, dated 17 March 2025. Operator figures are from Sky Betting and Gaming, NetBet and LiveScore Bet help pages, cited below.

GAMSTOP periods explained: six months to five years

You select a minimum period when you register, and the wording states that exactly. It is the shortest time the block can remain in place, and nothing you do shortens it.

Auto renewal is worth a second read. GAMSTOP's terms say you can only opt out "during the last six months of any ongoing five-year Minimum Exclusion Period". Miss that window and a fresh five-year term begins automatically, and in the terms' own words "it will be four years and six months until you again have the option to turn off auto renewal". Choose it deliberately.

Whatever period you choose, the end date will not be the end of the block. This is the part that catches most people by surprise, and it gets its own section next.

Can you get out of GAMSTOP early?

No. Not over the phone, not in writing, not through a change of details, not by asking a casino. The terms put this in capitals and mean it. There is no way around it.

There is no appeal process, no hardship clause and no fee that unlocks it. The results you find when you search online are selling accounts at gambling sites the Gambling Commission does not license, with none of the protections described on this page. The daily prizes at the ten casinos we review will still be there when your period ends.

What happens when the period ends

The block does not deactivate itself. GAMSTOP makes it clear that it will not remove the self-exclusion and will not contact you to tell you the period has ended. It is a process you have to start:

1. Wait until your minimum period has fully expired.
2. Contact GAMSTOP and complete its self-exclusion removal process. You can extend instead, for another six months, one year or five years, from your account or through the contact centre.
3. A cooling-off period of at least 24 hours must pass from the end of that contact. Your self-exclusion remains in effect during this time.
4. Approach each casino to request that your account is reopened. Each operator has its own reopening criteria. Sky Vegas and NetBet each apply a further 24-hour cooling-off of their own before an account comes back.

If you do nothing, the self-exclusion continues. The terms say it continues "for up to a further seven years" after the minimum period expires if you never get in touch, and only then deactivates.

The seven-year flag

After you have left, GAMSTOP tells operators for a further seven years that you were previously self-excluded. They do not have to block you during that time, but the terms state that they "may choose to prevent you from accessing gambling platforms outside of GAMSTOP". In effect, a casino may choose not to reopen an account, or may apply tighter checks, and there is nothing GAMSTOP can do about that.

What happens to your casino accounts and balances

GAMSTOP closes nothing itself. It informs operators that you are on the register, and the Gambling Commission's code tells them what to do next. The money is the operator's responsibility.

The Commission's rule is quoted above: the account is closed and the operator returns the money to the customer. GAMSTOP's terms state the same thing from the other side. If withdrawable funds remain, "it is the responsibility of the Gambling Operator and not GAMSTOP to return these funds to you", and how it is done depends on the operator.

The word "withdrawable" is what matters here. Cash is withdrawable. Funds that still need wagering are not, and a daily prize sitting as bonus balance is unlikely to survive closure. If you do decide to register, withdraw the funds first. Our withdrawal pending guide explains the stages a payout goes through, and the closed account guide covers what an operator must tell you when it closes an account.

Operators have their own self-exclusion tools in addition to GAMSTOP. Three of the ten publish enough on a logged-out help page to compare:

Sky's help page adds the line that applies to every operator tool: "Even our customer services team are unable to do this for you." An operator self-exclusion is as final as GAMSTOP's, only narrower in scope.

Registering for someone else

That is not possible. GAMSTOP's terms state that registering an account on behalf of another person is a breach unless you are lawfully authorised, for example under a valid power of attorney. That person has to make the decision to register themselves and complete the identity checks.

What GAMSTOP suggests instead is that you register yourself. Its "support a loved one" page describes partners doing exactly that, so their own details cannot be used to open or run an account. Beyond that, the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 supports family and friends as well.

Before you register: five things to do first

1. Withdraw every balance you can. Funds have to be returned, but a withdrawal you start yourself is cleaner and faster than one you chase after closure.
2. Write off bonus balances. Anything still under wagering will not turn into cash because an account is closing, and the offers on our existing customer offers list stop the moment the block lands.
3. List every email, number and address you have ever used at a gambling site. The block matches on them. Leaving one out leaves a door open.
4. Pick the period as if it cannot be changed. It cannot, so choose a period and commit to it. Think carefully before choosing auto renewal, because the window to switch it off is only six months.
5. Add the layers. A gambling block on every bank card, blocking software on every device, and GAMSTOP Betting Shops if you use the high street. Our deposit limits guide covers the lighter tool for people who want to keep playing within a set budget.

If you are reading this because gambling has stopped being fun, register today rather than after one more session. The scheme is free and takes only minutes to complete.

Sources for this GAMSTOP guide

Every figure is attributed to at least one of the documents. Casinos and regulators change them without warning, so be sure to check the live page before using the figures.

1. GAMSTOP, About Gamstop Online: how the register works, the half-million figure, the six-month to five-year terms.
2. GAMSTOP, Terms of Use: registration data, the 31 March 2020 licence condition, the 24-hour activation aim, auto renewal, the no-deactivation clause, the end-of-period process, the seven-year continuation and the seven-year post-exclusion flag.
3. GAMSTOP, Participating companies, last updated 2 September 2026: the licensee list including all ten casinos reviewed here and the Allwyn instant-win-only entry.
4. GAMSTOP, Tools and support: GAMSTOP Betting Shops (0800 294 2060), bank blocks, Gamban and BetBlocker, the National Gambling Helpline.
5. GAMSTOP, Take a break and Support a loved one: the six-month break use and the rule against registering someone else.
6. Gambling Commission, LCCP 3.5.3 Self-exclusion, remote SR code: account closure, return of funds, removal from marketing within two days.
7. Sky Betting and Gaming help, Self Exclusion Tool and Cool-Off: periods, Flutter-wide replication, balance return, the two-day marketing removal and the 24-hour reopening cooling-off.
8. NetBet help, Safer Gambling: time-outs of 24 hours to six weeks, self-exclusion of six months to five years, the 24-hour cool-off on reactivation.
9. LiveScore Bet help, What's available to you: cool-off of 24 hours to six weeks and self-exclusion of six months to five years.
10. GamCare, Everything you need to know about bank gambling blocks, 17 March 2025: the 48-hour and 72-hour cooling-off periods by bank.

Read next

All twelve guides are available on the casino guides page, separated into checks, withdrawals and blocks.

Bank gambling blocksWhere to switch it on at 20 UK banks, the 48 or 72-hour wait to lift it, and what slips through Account closed or restrictedThe six reasons, what happens to your balance and bets, how each of ten casinos reopens an account, and the dormancy fees Deposit limitsThe 24-hour rule, the lowest-limit rule, net versus gross, and all ten casinos compared