GAMSTOP: how the UK's national self-exclusion scheme works

A bolted door and a blank calendar grid — self-exclusion for a chosen period

GAMSTOP is a free service that blocks you from every online gambling website and app licensed in Great Britain, for a period you choose from six months to five years. Once registered, you cannot cancel during that period; when it ends, the block stays until you ask for it to be removed.

Last reviewed: 21 September 2026 · Author: Eleanor Whitlock

What it does

You register once, with personal details that let operators match your identity — name, date of birth, postcode, email. Every GB-licensed online operator checks new registrations and existing accounts against the GAMSTOP database. A match means you cannot open an account, log in, or receive marketing from any of them while the exclusion runs.

The service covers online gambling only. Betting shops have a separate scheme (GAMSTOP's own site points to it); gaming machines in arcades and casinos are covered by their own multi-operator schemes.

Periods and what happens at the end

Choose: a period from six months up to five years (the options offered are six months, one year and five years), with automatic renewal available.
During the period: the registration cannot be cancelled. This is the point — the decision is made once, when you are thinking clearly, and cannot be undone on a bad night.
After the period: the exclusion does not lapse on its own. It stays in place until you contact GAMSTOP and ask for it to be removed. The service describes itself as used by over half a million people in the UK.

Which operators must take part

Since 31 March 2020, participation in GAMSTOP has been a condition of every remote operating licence issued by the Gambling Commission. A site that accepts UK customers and is not on GAMSTOP is, by definition, not licensed in Great Britain. Sites advertising themselves as "not on GAMSTOP" are unlicensed for the GB market and outside the Commission's consumer protections — no ADR, no licence conditions on withdrawals, no obligation to verify age.

What GAMSTOP is not

Not a bank block. It does not stop card payments to gambling companies. For that, most UK banks offer a gambling transaction block in their app, and blocking software (Gamban and others) can be installed on devices.
Not treatment. It removes access; it does not address why the access was a problem. The National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133, free, 24/7) and GamCare's services are the next step. See responsible gambling.
Not a substitute for operator self-exclusion. Each operator must also offer its own self-exclusion. GAMSTOP is the version that covers all of them at once.

Registering: what to expect

Registration takes a few minutes at gamstop.co.uk. You will need an email address and your current details; if you have moved or changed name, adding previous details improves matching. There is no fee and no assessment. Operators are matched automatically; you do not have to notify each one.

Quick answers

Can I gamble on a foreign site while on GAMSTOP? Technically an unlicensed site may not check the database. It is also outside every protection GB licensing provides, and the Commission's position is that such sites are illegal to offer to GB customers.

Does GAMSTOP affect my credit file? No. It is not a financial product and is not reported to credit reference agencies.

Can someone register me? No. Registration is by the person themselves. Family members affected by someone's gambling can get support through GamCare.

Sources: GAMSTOP — About; Gambling Commission announcement of mandatory participation from 31 March 2020 (reported by iGB and Wiggin LLP).