GAMSTOP is a free service that blocks you from every online gambling site and app licensed in Great Britain. You register once, choose a minimum period of six months, one year or five years, and participating operators must stop you logging in or opening new accounts. You cannot cancel it early, and when the minimum period ends the block does not lift by itself.
This page explains how to register, how long a block really lasts, and the gaps GAMSTOP does not cover. Those gaps matter. People often assume one registration covers all gambling, and it does not.
What GAMSTOP is
GAMSTOP is run by The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited, a company based in Harrogate. It describes the service as “a free tool that enables people who live in the UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) to exclude themselves from all licensed gambling websites and apps”. GAMSTOP says the scheme is used by over half a million people in the UK.
The service has been available since April 2018, according to the Gambling Commission. It was set up in June 2017 by the Remote Gambling Association, at the request of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Gambling Commission, as GAMSTOP’s own history page records.
One naming point causes confusion. The online scheme is now branded Gamstop Online. There is a second, separate scheme called Gamstop Betting Shops for high street bookmakers. They are not the same registration. Signing up to one does not sign you up to the other.
How to register with GAMSTOP
Registration is free and takes a few minutes at gamstop.co.uk. GAMSTOP asks for these details:
- Title, first name and last name
- Date of birth
- Email address or addresses
- Mobile phone number or numbers
- Postal address or addresses
The plural matters. GAMSTOP works by matching the details you give against the details operators hold. The Gambling Commission puts it plainly: “GAMSTOP only works by matching details put in by the consumer.” If you opened a gambling account years ago with an old email address or at a previous home, add that email and that address too. A detail you leave out is a gap in your own block.
GAMSTOP also asks you to make sure the details you give exactly match those on your photo ID.
How long a GAMSTOP block lasts
There are four choices. The fourth one, five years with auto-renewal, is newer and is often missing from other guides.
| Option | Minimum period | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Six months | 6 months | The shortest period available |
| One year | 12 months | |
| Five years | 5 years | |
| Five years with auto-renewal | 5 years, then renews | Auto-renewal can only be switched off during the last six months of the five-year period |
These periods and the auto-renewal rule are set out in GAMSTOP’s terms of use. There is no option shorter than six months. If you want a shorter break, that is a job for an operator’s own time-out tool or for blocking software, not for GAMSTOP.
You cannot cancel it early
This is the point most people want to know, so here it is directly. GAMSTOP’s answer is “No, we cannot remove anyone’s exclusion early.” The scheme says this is deliberate, to protect people better.
Treat the period you pick as final. If you are unsure, pick the longer one. You can always extend, and extending is easy. Shortening is impossible.
What happens when the minimum period ends
Nothing happens automatically. This is the single most misunderstood part of the scheme, and it works in your favour.
GAMSTOP’s terms state that it “will not automatically remove your self-exclusion at the end of a Minimum Exclusion Period”. If you do nothing, the block simply continues. The terms say it carries on “for up to a further seven years from the expiry date of your initial Minimum Exclusion Period”, and is only then deactivated.
So a six-month registration left alone is really a block that can last seven and a half years. To end it you have to take three deliberate steps:
- Sign in and check the minimum period has actually expired. GAMSTOP will not act before it does.
- Use the “Request Removal” option and speak to the contact centre by chat or phone.
- Wait out a 24-hour cooling-off period. GAMSTOP says: “Once we’ve completed the removal process, you will begin a 24-hour cooling-off period.” You can cancel the request during that day.
Those steps are friction on purpose. The hardest moment in a recovery is often the day a block expires. The design means you cannot gamble on an impulse at 11pm just because a date has passed.
What GAMSTOP does not cover
GAMSTOP is strong inside its boundaries and powerless outside them. There are five gaps worth knowing.
1. National Lottery draw games
This split surprises people. GAMSTOP states that “The National Lottery’s draw games, including the main Lotto game, and Euro Millions are not covered by Gamstop Online”. But it adds that “the National Lottery’s online instant win games (including online scratch cards) are covered by Gamstop”.
So the fast, repeatable products are blocked and the weekly draw is not. If lottery draws are part of your gambling, GAMSTOP alone will not stop them.
2. Anything in person
GAMSTOP is online only. Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and arcades each have their own schemes, and you have to join them separately. Our comparison of national self-exclusion registers sets out how these differ from country to country.
3. Sites not licensed in Great Britain
GAMSTOP covers “all online gambling companies licensed in Great Britain”. Its terms confirm it cannot block operators that do not take part.
Sites that advertise themselves as being outside the scheme are outside it because they hold no British licence. That means no British regulator to complain to, no British rules on how your money is held, and no protection if the operator simply keeps it. This is the main reason people relapse after registering, and it is why blocking software is worth adding. We do not list or link such sites.
4. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
The scheme is “available for residents of the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) only”. Someone registering from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man “won’t necessarily be restricted from gambling by all participating companies”. Each company decides for itself.
5. Advertising you have never signed up to
Registering helps with marketing, but only partly. GAMSTOP says you “should automatically be taken off the email marketing lists” of companies you held accounts with. It warns that “you may still get marketing from gambling companies that you weren’t registered with”, and that general gambling adverts will still appear.
Why operators have to take part
GAMSTOP is not a voluntary courtesy. It is a licence condition. Social responsibility code provision 3.5.5 of the Gambling Commission’s Licence conditions and codes of practice says simply: “Licensees must participate in the national multi-operator self-exclusion scheme.” It applies to all remote licences apart from a short list of exceptions, such as gambling software and host licences.
Breaking a code provision is breaking a licence condition. The Commission can review the licence, suspend or revoke it, or impose a financial penalty.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| April 2018 | GAMSTOP becomes available to the public |
| 31 March 2020 | Participation becomes mandatory for all online operators serving British consumers |
| April 2020 | Operators must check their whole customer base against the register at least every 24 hours |
| 1 April 2024 | The requirement extends to businesses taking bets by telephone and email |
| November 2025 | The betting shop scheme formerly called MOSES is renamed Gamstop Betting Shops |
The Commission announced the 2020 deadline in January 2020, saying that “by the 31 March all online operators will be required to participate in the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme”. The telephone and email extension took effect on 1 April 2024, with affected firms required to connect to GAMSTOP’s interface so customer details can be checked against the register. The 24-hour checking rule and the renaming are recorded on GAMSTOP’s own history page.
The 24-hour rule is the reason a block can take a short while to bite everywhere. It is not instant across every operator.
Betting shops and other venues
To block yourself from high street bookmakers you use the separate Gamstop Betting Shops scheme. The Gambling Commission lists its free phone line as 0800 294 2060, and GAMSTOP’s own support page shows the same number. One call covers multiple bookmakers in your area.
The Commission’s list of free multi-operator schemes covers the rest of the land-based sector.
| Sector | Scheme | How to join |
|---|---|---|
| Online sites and apps | Gamstop Online | Register online |
| Betting shops | Gamstop Betting Shops | Call 0800 294 2060 |
| Land-based casinos | SENSE | Apply at a venue or by email form |
| Bingo premises | Bingo Industry Self-Exclusion Scheme | In person or by phoning the premises |
| Arcades and adult gaming centres | BACTA scheme | In person; advice line 01482 441 142 |
| Arcades, service areas, holiday parks | SmartEXCLUSION | In venue or 01482 441 142 |
Our complete guide to self-exclusion explains how these schemes fit together and what to do if one of them fails.
What you agree to when you register
Registering is a promise as well as a block. Under GAMSTOP’s terms of use you agree not to “attempt to register new gambling accounts with Gambling Operators” and not to “log in to any of your existing accounts with Gambling Operators”. You also agree not to try to get around the scheme’s mechanisms in other ways.
The Gambling Commission describes the same undertaking on its GAMSTOP guidance page. In practice this matters because the register is a matching system, not a wall. Using a different name, a spare email address or someone else’s details would defeat it. Nobody will stop you doing that except you, which is why most people need more than one layer.
Mistakes that weaken a block
These are the errors that most often leave someone still able to gamble after registering.
- Giving only your current email address. Old accounts are usually tied to old addresses. Add every one you have used.
- Leaving out a previous home address. The same logic applies. Operators hold the address you gave them at the time.
- Typos and mismatched names. A middle name on your ID but not on the form, or a misspelling, can stop a match. GAMSTOP asks that your details exactly match your photo ID.
- Expecting it to work the same minute. Operators check the register at least every 24 hours, so coverage builds over the first day.
- Assuming it covers everything. It does not cover betting shops, casinos, arcades, lottery draw games or unlicensed sites.
- Choosing six months by default. You cannot shorten a period but you can always extend one. The short option is the riskier choice.
If you live in Northern Ireland
You can register. GAMSTOP states the scheme is for residents of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The block works on gambling companies licensed in Great Britain, which includes the large online brands available across Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland’s own land-based gambling law is separate from the Gambling Act 2005 that applies in Great Britain, and the land-based schemes listed above are Great Britain schemes. So GAMSTOP handles the online side, but a Northern Ireland bookmaker is a matter for that shop directly.
What to pair GAMSTOP with
GAMSTOP closes the front door of licensed sites. On its own it leaves windows open. Three additions do most of the remaining work, and GAMSTOP points to all three on its support page.
- Blocking software. Installed on your phone, tablet and computer, it blocks gambling sites whether or not they hold a British licence. That is the gap GAMSTOP cannot reach. See our comparison of gambling blocking software.
- A bank gambling block. Many banks will stop card payments to gambling businesses. It works at the money, not the website.
- Talking to someone. The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is free on 0808 80 20 133. GamCare states that “support is available 24/7”. Samaritans is on 116 123 if things feel urgent.
Our guide to getting gambling help in the UK covers treatment routes in more detail, and how to get help for gambling walks through the first steps.
Does GAMSTOP work?
Two independent evaluations have been published. GAMSTOP’s history page records a first evaluation by Sonnet Advisory & Impact in June 2021, in which 80% of respondents said the scheme delivered its intended outcomes, and a second by Ipsos in September 2024 which found it an effective tool for reducing gambling-related harm. Both were commissioned in connection with the scheme itself, which is worth bearing in mind when reading them.
The fair summary is this. GAMSTOP reliably does the specific job it was built for. It is not a treatment, and it is not a complete barrier. It is one layer, and it works best with others. Our page on what responsible gambling means sets out where tools like this sit in the wider picture, and responsible gambling tools covers deposit limits, time-outs and the rest.
Quick answers
Is GAMSTOP free?
Yes. Registering costs nothing.
Will it show on my credit file?
No. GAMSTOP is a self-exclusion register held by the scheme, not a credit reference agency, and registering is not a credit application.
Can I still withdraw money I already have?
Operators are expected to return balances in your accounts. Contact each operator directly if a withdrawal is blocked.
What if I can still log in somewhere?
Check whether the details on that account match the details you gave GAMSTOP, especially an old email address. If they match and the site holds a British licence, report it to the operator and to the Gambling Commission.
Can someone register on my behalf?
No. You have to register yourself. If you are worried about a family member, the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 80 20 133 supports affected friends and relatives too.
Last reviewed: 15 October 2026. Sources checked on this date.