There is no national self-exclusion list in the United States. Self-exclusion in the USA is run state by state. Each state gambling regulator keeps its own list, and most states keep more than one: separate lists for casinos, online casino games, sports betting and fantasy contests. Signing up in one state does not block you in the next one. Signing up for one list does not always block the others in the same state.
That is the short answer. The rest of this page explains why the system is built this way, sets out what ten of the biggest gambling states actually offer, and gives you an order to work through so you do not leave a gap open.
The short version
- No federal list exists. Gambling is mostly regulated by states, so each state runs its own scheme.
- Inside one state you may need two, three or four separate enrolments.
- Tribal casinos are regulated by tribes, not states, so a state list usually does not cover them.
- Terms range from one year to life. Some states never remove you automatically.
- Blocking software and bank blocks cover the gaps that state lists leave open.
What self-exclusion actually is
Self-exclusion is a formal request to be banned from gambling. You give a regulator your details and choose how long the ban lasts. The gambling businesses covered must then refuse your bets, close or lock your accounts, and take you off their marketing lists.
It is a barrier, not a treatment. It buys time and makes gambling harder at the moment you most want to do it. Most people who use it also need other support. Our guide to getting help for gambling sets out the options, and the global self-exclusion guide explains how schemes work in other countries. If you are not sure whether gambling has become a problem, start with gambling addiction explained.
Why there is no national list
Gambling in the US is mostly a matter of state law. There is no federal regulator for commercial casinos or sportsbooks, so there is no federal body to run a single list.
The Supreme Court made that split sharper in 2018. In Murphy v. NCAA, decided on 14 May 2018, the Court struck down the federal sports betting ban, holding that the law’s ban on state authorisation of sports gambling “violates the anticommandeering rule”. Congress may regulate gambling itself, the Court said, but it may not order states to do it. After that ruling each state decided for itself whether to allow sports betting, and each wrote its own player protection rules, including its own exclusion list.
Tribal gambling adds a second layer. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, “Indian tribes are the primary regulators of Indian gaming”, and the National Indian Gaming Commission says Indian gaming takes place in 29 states. State law generally does not reach onto tribal land: unless Congress specifically allows it, a state may not apply its laws inside a reservation. A state list therefore usually stops at the tribal casino door.
Congress has been asked for one
A national list is not impossible. It simply has not been passed. The SAFE Bet Act of 2025, introduced in the House on 11 March 2025, would create a federal “national self-exclusion list” of people who “restrict themselves from placing a sports wager with a sports wagering operator located in any sports wagering opt-in State”, run in cooperation with the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. The bill covers sports betting only, not casino games, and it has not become law. A Senate companion bill was introduced the same year.
Inside one state, one form is often not enough
This is the costliest misunderstanding on the subject. People sign one form, believe they are covered, and find their phone app still works.
- Pennsylvania runs four separate programs: casinos, interactive gaming, video gaming terminals and fantasy contests.
- Michigan splits land-based from online. The Disassociated Persons List covers the Detroit casinos; the Responsible Gaming Database covers online gambling.
- Indiana has a Voluntary Exclusion Program for casinos and a separate Internet Self Restriction Program for mobile sports betting.
- New Jersey asks you to choose: casinos plus racetrack sports betting plus internet gambling, or internet gambling only.
Pennsylvania’s own self-exclusion FAQ is blunt about the consequence: a casino self-exclusion does not automatically stop online play, although “a licensee may choose to ban individuals enrolled in the Casino Self-Exclusion Program from wagering on their online gambling venues”. Michigan’s online application form says the same thing in reverse: joining the online database “does NOT apply to any voluntary or involuntary exclusions by or with the Michigan Gaming Control Board or casino licensed in this State”.
So ask your regulator, in writing, which lists you are on. Do not assume.
Ten state programs compared
Rules change. Everything below was checked against the regulator’s own pages on the date at the foot of this article.
| State | What one enrolment covers | Terms | How to enrol | Coming off the list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | Either Atlantic City casinos plus racetrack sports betting plus internet gambling, or internet gambling only | 1 year, 5 years, lifetime | Online, in person or by post; DGE self-exclusion hotline 1-833-788-4DGE | Only at the end of the term; lifetime cannot be removed |
| Pennsylvania | Four separate programs: casinos, iGaming, video gaming terminals, fantasy contests | Chosen at enrolment; the casino program lists one year or five years | Online portal, or in person by appointment (717-346-8300) | Casino ban runs until you request removal; the other three end with the term |
| Michigan | Two lists: Disassociated Persons List (three Detroit casinos) and Responsible Gaming Database (online casino and online sports betting) | DPL: life. Online database: 1 or 5 years | Paper application forms | DPL: removal request allowed after 5 years. Online: end of term |
| Illinois | Illinois casinos and Illinois sports wagering, plus casinos owned by Caesars, Boyd, Penn and MGM | Minimum 5 years | In person only, at listed enrolment sites | After 5 years, with documentation from a licensed gambling-certified mental health professional |
| Indiana | Two programs: casinos (VEP) and mobile sports betting (ISRP) | VEP: 1 year, 5 years, life. ISRP: 1 or 5 years | VEP in person and witnessed; ISRP online | Written request; the ISRP restriction does not lift until you ask |
| Ohio | One combined list across casinos, video lottery terminal venues and sports gaming | Minimum 1 year, minimum 5 years, or lifetime | Application to the Ohio voluntary exclusion program | 1 or 5 years: apply for removal. Lifetime: after 5 years plus an education program |
| Missouri | Missouri casino gambling (List of Disassociated Persons) | No fixed end date | Application to the Missouri Gaming Commission | One petition only, 5 years after placement |
| New York | One list across casinos, video lottery, sports betting, lottery draw and instant games, fantasy sports, charitable gaming and pari-mutuel wagering | 1, 3 or 5 years, or lifetime | At a gaming facility intake area, at Commission headquarters, or by notarised post | Temporary terms end automatically unless you file a new form within 30 days |
| Colorado | One list covering casinos, on-site sportsbooks and online sportsbooks | 1, 3 or 5 years | Online form, PDF by post, or in person at the Division of Gaming | Never automatic; you apply and the Division Director must approve |
| Nevada | No statewide voluntary list. Each online operator must run its own | Set by the operator | Operator by operator | Operator by operator, after at least 30 days |
New Jersey
The Division of Gaming Enforcement runs the scheme. The state’s Casino Control Commission page explains you can exclude yourself “from gambling in all Atlantic City casinos and sports wagering facilities, or from internet gaming and sports wagering activities only, or from both”, and gives a dedicated hotline, 1-833-788-4DGE, for help signing up. The request form offers one year, five years or lifetime, warns that if you gamble anyway “you cannot collect your winnings or recover your wagers”, and states that a lifetime name “cannot be removed”.
New Jersey also shows the scale of use. In its 2025 report to the Governor on responsible gaming, the state recorded 31,405 self-excluded people for 2024, of whom 29,125 were internet-only, and credited the rise to expanded online sign-up options.
Pennsylvania
Four programs, one portal. You choose the length of each ban during enrolment, and you can enrol online or in person at Gaming Control Board offices. The casino ban “remains in effect until the self-excluded person requests removal at the conclusion of the ban”, while the online, video gaming terminal and fantasy bans expire when the chosen term ends.
The Board publishes numbers too. When casino enrolments passed 20,000 requests in June 2023, it reported 3,778 people on the iGaming list, 1,467 on the video gaming terminal list and 797 on the fantasy list, with roughly 21% of casino enrollees choosing a lifetime ban. The gap between 20,000 and 3,778 is the land-based and online split in one statistic.
Michigan
The Disassociated Persons List lets a person “voluntarily self-exclude from the Detroit commercial casinos for life”, with a removal request possible after five years. The separate Responsible Gaming Database application covers Michigan-regulated online gambling and online sports betting for one or five years, with no lifetime option. The Gaming Control Board’s responsible gaming line is 888-223-3044, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Eastern.
Michigan has also done something no other state has. In 2026 the Board offered free Gamban blocking-software licences to any Michigan resident, with no requirement to be on a self-exclusion list, a single licence covering unlimited household devices. The offer was capped: 100 licences in April 2026, more than 80 claimed within two weeks, and another 100 added on 21 May 2026. Check with the Board whether any remain.
Illinois
Illinois is the strictest of the ten. The Gaming Board requires you to enrol in person at a sanctioned site, taking 30 to 45 minutes with photo ID, and the ban is “for a mandatory minimum of five years”. Coming off it needs documentation from a licensed mental health professional certified in gambling addiction counselling.
It also reaches furthest. The Board’s FAQ says the ban covers all Illinois casinos plus “all casinos and operations owned by Caesar’s Entertainment Inc., Boyd Gaming Inc., Penn National Gaming Inc., and MGM”. That is corporate reciprocity doing what no state law can: extending one enrolment across state lines. The FAQ also warns that a self-excluded person who re-enters an Illinois casino “faces the distinct possibility of being placed under arrest and charged with trespassing”.
Indiana, Ohio and Missouri
Indiana’s casino program dates from 2004 and offers “one year, five years or lifetime exclusion”. You must sign in person, witnessed by a gaming agent, at any Indiana casino, the Commission office in Indianapolis, or a designated treatment provider. The separate online program covers mobile sports wagering only, is one or five years, and “will not end unless and until the person provides notification of his or her wish to be removed”. It explicitly excludes horse racing, paid fantasy sports and e-sports betting.
Ohio is the cleanest design here. Its rules combine the casino, lottery and sports gaming exclusion programs into one Ohio voluntary exclusion program, covering “all casino facilities”, “all video lottery terminal facilities” and “all sports gaming facilities”. Terms are a minimum of one year, a minimum of five years, or lifetime. A lifetime exclusion can be waived only after five years in the program and completion of an education program on problem gambling awareness.
Missouri’s List of Disassociated Persons has no term at all. You get “a one-time option to petition to remove their name from the DAP List 5 years after placement”, and if you come off and later go back on, you stay on permanently. Casinos must also drop listed people from direct marketing, refuse check cashing and credit, deny player programs and forfeit accumulated points.
New York and Colorado
New York has the widest single list of the ten. One voluntary self-exclusion form can cover pari-mutuel wagering, internet and account wagering, sports wagering, commercial casinos, video lottery games, traditional draw and instant lottery games, QuickDraw, interactive fantasy sports and charitable gaming. Terms are one, three or five years, or lifetime. Enrolment is at a gaming facility intake area, at the Commission in Schenectady, or by notarised post with a photograph. When a temporary term expires you are removed unless you file a new form within 30 days, so renewal is your job, not the regulator’s.
Colorado went the other way on removal. Its self-exclusion list covers casinos, on-site sportsbooks and online sportsbooks in one enrolment, for one, three or five years. Crucially, “no person is automatically removed from the exclusion list when the selected or directed time period ends”: you must apply, and the Division of Gaming Director must approve. The list launched in September 2023 and the Division reported 288 people enrolled after its first year, in September 2024.
Nevada: the gap in the gambling capital
Nevada has no statewide voluntary self-exclusion list. Its famous List of Excluded Persons, the “Black Book”, is the opposite thing: an involuntary ban imposed by regulators on people with, among other grounds, a felony conviction or a “notorious or unsavory reputation”. It is not a help scheme.
What Nevada does require is operator-level exclusion online. Regulation 5A.130 says operators “must have and put into effect policies and procedures for self-exclusion and take all reasonable steps to immediately refuse service”, must keep a register of who has self-excluded, and must wait a minimum of 30 days before re-engaging. That means one request per operator, and a new request for every new app.
Tribal casinos are a separate system
If you gamble at a tribal casino, a state list will probably not stop you. Tribes are the primary regulators of their own gaming, and most tribal casinos operate their own exclusion procedure through their tribal gaming commission. Some are generous and some are minimal, and there is no central place to check.
The practical step is to contact the tribal gaming commission at each venue you visit and ask to be excluded in writing. Keep a copy. Our directory of gambling regulators explains who supervises what in each system.
How to arrange self-exclusion in the USA, step by step
- Deal with today first. Paperwork takes days. If you are in crisis, use the helpline details at the end of this page before anything else.
- Write down every way you gamble. Each app, each website, each casino, each state, the lottery, fantasy contests, tribal venues. The list is your checklist.
- Enrol with your state regulator in every program it runs. Not just the one that matches how you gambled last week. Ask which lists you are now on and get the answer in writing.
- Repeat for every other state where you hold an account or visit a casino. Nothing crosses the border for you.
- Contact each tribal gaming commission whose venues you use.
- Add the technical layer. Blocking software on every device, and a gambling block with your bank or card issuer if it offers one. See our guide to responsible gambling tools.
- Tell one person. A ban you have told someone about is much harder to unpick quietly.
What state self-exclusion does not cover
- Other states. Cross a state line, or download an app licensed elsewhere, and your ban does not travel with you.
- Tribal venues, in most cases, as above.
- Unlicensed offshore sites. They ignore every list. Sites that advertise themselves as a way around a self-exclusion scheme are advertising the absence of consumer protection, refund rights and any regulator to complain to. They are the single most common way people break an exclusion.
- Products your state does not fold into the list. Lottery, fantasy contests and sweepstakes-style games sit outside many state schemes. New York and Ohio include lottery products; several states do not.
- Cash. No list stops you handing money to someone else to bet for you.
Blocking software closes part of this gap because it works on your device rather than on a register. Michigan’s free licence scheme is an unusual example of a regulator paying for that layer directly.
How the US compares with countries that have one list
Great Britain and Australia both do what the US does not. The Gambling Commission’s self-exclusion page describes GAMSTOP simply: it “allows you to self-exclude from online operators with one request”. In Australia, BetStop is a national register run as a government initiative, blocking all licensed phone and online wagering providers, for “a minimum of 3 months and up to a lifetime”.
Neither is perfect. Both stop at licensed operators and neither covers land-based venues in full. But both remove the task the US system leaves with the person least able to do it: keeping track of which of twenty separate registers they are on. Our global self-exclusion guide compares the main national schemes side by side.
Questions people ask
Is there a national self-exclusion list in the United States?
No. There is no federal list covering all US gambling. A federal sports betting list has been proposed in Congress but has not been enacted.
Does a ban in one state work in another?
No, with one partial exception. Illinois extends its ban to casinos owned by four large operators, which can reach properties in other states. Otherwise, each state list stops at that state’s border.
Can I change my mind and get off the list early?
Usually not. New Jersey will not remove a name before the term ends and never removes a lifetime entry. Illinois requires five years and a professional’s sign-off. Colorado requires the Division Director’s approval. That friction is the point of the scheme.
What happens if I gamble while excluded?
You can lose the money. New Jersey’s form states you cannot collect winnings or recover wagers. Illinois confiscates chips and slips in your possession and donates seized funds, and warns of possible arrest for trespass. Exact consequences vary by state.
Does self-exclusion stop gambling adverts and emails?
From the operators covered, yes. Removal from direct marketing is a standard requirement, as Missouri’s rules show. It will not stop general advertising you see in public or online.
Does it cost anything?
No. Every state program covered here is free. Illinois states this explicitly. Anyone charging you to join a self-exclusion list is not a regulator.
Where to get help now
If gambling feels out of control, you do not have to finish the paperwork first. The National Council on Problem Gambling lists 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) on its help and treatment page for call, text and online chat. The older number, 1-800-522-4700, also still appears on that page.
For help with the enrolment process itself, the state numbers on this page are the right place to start: New Jersey 1-833-788-4DGE, Pennsylvania 717-346-8300, Michigan 888-223-3044, Indiana 317-234-3600. These are administrative lines, not crisis lines. For numbers in other countries, see our global gambling helpline directory, and for how we source and check pages like this one, our editorial policy.
Last reviewed: 27 September 2026. Sources checked on this date.