Self-exclusion is a formal request asking gambling companies to refuse you service for a set period. Most national schemes are free, take a few minutes to join, and cannot be undone on impulse — which is the entire point. In self exclusion gambling schemes, the deliberate difficulty of getting back in is the protection.
This guide compares the major national registers, and covers the three things that catch people out: what each scheme does not cover, whether it ends automatically, and how many separate registrations you need in countries that split online from land-based gambling.
The three questions that matter
Before the country detail, these determine how well a scheme will actually protect you.
- What is inside the perimeter? Every scheme binds only the operators its regulator licenses. Nothing outside that licence is covered.
- Does it end by itself? Some schemes expire automatically. Others stay in force until you actively ask to come off — a difference that matters enormously.
- How many registrations do you need? In Great Britain, full coverage takes four separate ones.
National schemes compared
| Country | Scheme | Covers | Minimum | Maximum | Ends automatically? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | Gamstop Online | GB-licensed online only | 6 months | 5 years | No |
| Australia | BetStop | Licensed online and phone wagering | 3 months | Lifetime | No |
| Sweden | Spelpaus | All registered gambling, online and land-based | 10 days | Indefinite | Fixed periods only |
| Netherlands | CRUKS | Licensed online and land-based venues | 6 months | 99 years | Yes |
| Denmark | ROFUS | Online, land-based casinos and betting shops | 24 hours | Permanent | Temporary only |
| Germany | OASIS | Online and land-based | 3 months | Unlimited | No |
| Spain | RGIAJ | State-licensed online, plus reserved games | Indefinite | Indefinite | No |
| Belgium | EPIS | Casinos, arcades and betting, real and online | Indefinite | Indefinite | No |
| Italy | ADM register | Remote gambling only | 30 days | Indefinite | Fixed terms only |
| Portugal | SRIJ platform | Licensed online; land-based is separate | 3 months | Indefinite | Fixed terms only |
| Brazil | Plataforma Centralizada | Authorised betting platforms | Defined term | Indefinite | Not stated |
Great Britain
Britain needs more explanation than anywhere else, because online and land-based gambling are handled by four different schemes.
Gamstop Online
GAMSTOP is free, and blocks you from gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain. Participation is not optional for operators: the Gambling Commission’s social responsibility code provision 3.5.5 requires licensees to take part in the national multi-operator self-exclusion scheme.
At registration you choose 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or 5 years with auto-renewal. It cannot be cancelled early — GAMSTOP states plainly that it cannot remove anyone’s exclusion early.
Now the detail almost nobody knows, and the most useful thing on this page. GAMSTOP will not contact you when your minimum period expires, and if you do not ask to be removed, the exclusion stays in place for a further seven years. That is protective, not a trap — but it means “my six months are up” does not mean you are back in, and equally that letting it lapse quietly is not a risk.
GAMSTOP is online only. It does nothing about betting shops, casinos, bingo halls or arcades.
The three land-based schemes
The Gambling Commission maintains the canonical list of free multi-operator schemes, last updated on 7 September 2026.
Betting shops. The scheme formerly known as MOSES has been rebranded Gamstop Betting Shops — its own site confirms it was “previously known as MOSES”. One phone call to 0800 294 2060 covers multiple bookmakers, free, for a fixed term of 12 months, with a 24-hour cooling-off period before any return.
Casinos. SENSE is the national scheme for the British casino industry, covering all licensed land-based casinos in Great Britain. The minimum is six months and the maximum five years. Removal cannot be requested until the minimum has expired, must be done by speaking to a manager in person at a casino, and reinstatement is at each operator’s discretion.
Bingo and arcades. The Bingo Industry Self-Exclusion Scheme covers land-based bingo premises and requires a digital photograph — exclusions cannot be processed without one. SmartEXCLUSION is free and covers adult gaming centres, holiday parks and family entertainment centres, via a single registration in venue or on 01482 441 142.
So a person who wants to be excluded from all gambling in Great Britain needs four separate registrations. There is no single form.
Australia
BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, is a free Australian Government initiative. Registered providers cannot let you bet, cannot let you open accounts, and cannot send you marketing.
The regulator, ACMA, states that the service is free, runs from a minimum of three months up to a lifetime, and covers approximately 150 licensed wagering providers.
On coming off, the rules are more precise than most summaries suggest. You cannot reduce your chosen period at any point. You cannot apply for removal at all during the first three months. After that, if a valid removal application is not withdrawn, you are removed seven days after it is received. So a lifetime registration is not irreversible in the strictest sense, but it cannot be reversed quickly or on impulse.
Note the scope carefully: BetStop’s stated coverage is licensed online and phone wagering. It operates separately from, and does not replace, state and venue-based schemes for pokies and land-based venues.
The Nordics
Sweden — Spelpaus
Spelpaus is run by the regulator, Spelinspektionen, and is one of the broadest schemes anywhere: it covers all gambling requiring registration, online, in shops, at tracks and on Vegas terminals, across every Swedish-licensed operator. It is free, and periods run 10 days, 1, 3 or 6 months, or indefinitely with a 12-month minimum.
It also blocks marketing. Spelinspektionen explains that under the Gambling Act, direct marketing may not be aimed at a self-excluded player — covering addressed post, email, SMS, telephone and individualised digital channels.
A registration cannot be undone or ended early. Fixed periods lapse automatically; an indefinite one can be ended no earlier than 12 months, and only by actively confirming.
Denmark — ROFUS
ROFUS is the Danish Gambling Authority’s register, covering all online gambling by Danish-licensed operators plus land-based casinos and land-based betting. Periods are 24 hours, one, three or six months, or final.
Registering also adds you automatically to the “No thanks to gambling ads” scheme. Temporary exclusions lift automatically; a permanent one can be deleted only after a year, and the request must be confirmed by logging in again no sooner than 7 and no later than 30 days afterwards.
Continental Europe
Netherlands — CRUKS
CRUKS is run by the Kansspelautoriteit and covers licensed gambling sites and licensed arcades and casinos. The regulator’s own page gives the official registration site as cruksregister.nl. The minimum is six months and the maximum 99 years. Cancellation is not possible inside the first six months, and afterwards carries an eight-day reflection period. At the end of a registration, the exclusion stops automatically.
One safety note: there is a commercial lookalike domain at a similar address. Use cruksregister.nl, reached via the regulator’s site, and nothing else.
Germany — OASIS
OASIS is the nationwide blocking system under the 2021 State Treaty, administered by the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt and overseen by the GGL. It is unusually broad, covering arcades, casinos, sports betting, online casino, online poker, virtual slots and betting terminals.
The minimum is three months and there is no maximum. Critically, an OASIS block does not lapse on its own: lifting it always requires a written application from the blocked person. If you register in Germany, assume it lasts until you take action.
Spain — RGIAJ
The General Register of Gaming Access Bans is managed by the DGOJ and covers state-licensed online gambling. Registration is for an indefinite period, and cancellation can be requested only after six months. You can register in person, online with a digital certificate, or through the DNIe mobile app.
Spain’s regions run their own registers for regionally regulated gambling, listed on the DGOJ’s regional self-prohibition page. If that address looks misspelled, it is — and it is nonetheless the working one.
Belgium, Italy and Portugal
Belgium’s EPIS has been run by the Gaming Commission since 2004 and has the widest stated coverage of any scheme here: casinos, arcades and betting, real and online. It runs indefinitely until lifted, and cancellation takes effect only after a three-month waiting period.
Italy’s register, run by ADM, applies across all concession holders but covers remote gambling only. Periods are 30, 60 or 90 days, or indefinite; fixed terms reactivate automatically, while an indefinite exclusion can be revoked only after six months.
Portugal splits the two channels. The SRIJ platform covers all licensed online sites, with a three-month minimum and a distinctive quirk: ending it takes effect one month after you ask. Land-based casinos and bingo use a separate proibição process applied in person or by post.
The United States has no national list
There is no federal self-exclusion register in the United States. Self-exclusion is organised state by state, and often product by product within a state. The National Council on Problem Gambling has publicly called for national self-exclusion tools, which tells you they do not currently exist.
The fragmentation is real even inside one state:
- New Jersey offers one year, five years or lifetime for in-person registration covering all gambling types, or one/five years online for internet gaming only.
- Michigan runs two separate lists: the Disassociated Persons List for Detroit casinos, with removal possible after five years, and the Responsible Gaming Database for online, at one or five years with automatic removal at expiry.
- Pennsylvania runs four — casino, iGaming, video gaming terminal and fantasy contests. iGaming, VGT and fantasy exclusions expire at the end of the ban period; casino exclusions do not expire and require an active removal request.
Registering on one list does nothing for the others. American readers should check their own state regulator and assume nothing carries across state lines.
What self-exclusion does not cover
This section exists because the gaps are where people get hurt, and because a scheme that is oversold is worse than one that is honestly described.
The licence perimeter. Every scheme binds only the operators its regulator licenses. Sites operating outside that perimeter are not part of the register and will not check it. There is an entire advertising industry built around telling self-excluded people exactly this. We do not name or link those sites, and the reason is simple: if you have self-excluded, being served by an operator that ignores your exclusion is not a loophole in your favour — it is the precise situation the register existed to prevent, with no regulator to complain to afterwards.
Channel gaps. GAMSTOP is online-only. BetStop covers wagering. Italy’s register covers remote gambling. Portugal handles land-based separately. Assume nothing is covered unless the scheme says it is.
Imperfect systems. The Belgian Gaming Commission is admirably candid on this point, noting that as with any computer system, a malfunction or a technical or human problem may disturb its proper functioning. Treat self-exclusion as one layer, not a wall.
Layers to add on top
Blocking software stops the device rather than the operator, so it works regardless of who is licensed where. BetBlocker is a registered Scottish charity and free — “absolutely nothing, ever” — across all major platforms, with restrictions from one day to five years that cannot be lifted early. Note that Gamban moved to a paid subscription in England and Scotland when TalkBanStop ended on 31 March 2026, remaining free in Wales; guides still describing it as free UK-wide are out of date.
Bank blocks work at the payment layer. Card schemes tag gambling merchants with merchant category code 7995 — defined in Visa’s own merchant data standards manual as betting, including lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, off-track betting and wagers at race tracks — which is how a bank can decline gambling transactions specifically. The Gambling Commission explains that implementations vary between banks.
Does self-exclusion work?
The honest answer is that it helps the people who use it, and that far too few people use it.
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Current Addiction Reports in 2023 found that about one in 40 moderate-risk gamblers and one in seven people with problem gambling had used self-exclusion, and that just over one in ten people who gamble were even aware of it as an option.
An earlier systematic review in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions reported exclusion rates among problem gamblers ranging from 0.6% to 17% in Canada and Australia, concluding that the programmes are insufficiently used, and noting that self-excluders were not confident that breaches would be detected.
Read those together and the picture is clear. The main limitation of self-exclusion is not that it fails the people who sign up. It is that most people who would benefit never hear about it.
How to register, in practice
The mechanics vary, but most national schemes follow the same shape and take between five and fifteen minutes.
You will need to identify yourself properly. That usually means your full name, date of birth, address, email and phone number, and in several countries a national digital identity: BankID in Sweden, DigiD in the Netherlands, MitID in Denmark, a digital certificate or the DNIe app in Spain, and a Gov.br account at silver or gold level in Brazil. This is not bureaucratic obstruction. The register works by matching you against the details operators hold, so partial or inconsistent information is what lets an account slip through.
Use every variation of your details. If you have accounts under a maiden name, an old address, a middle initial or a second email, include them. The commonest reason a self-excluded person still gets served is a mismatch between the register and an old account record, not a scheme failing.
Expect a gap before it bites. Schemes are not always instantaneous across every operator, and existing accounts may close on a slightly different timetable from the block on opening new ones. Treat the first day or two as a period to cover with other layers rather than assuming a wall went up the moment you pressed submit.
What happens to your accounts and your post
Registered operators should close or suspend your accounts and return any balance. Marketing should stop too, and in several countries that is a legal duty rather than a courtesy: Sweden bans direct marketing to a self-excluded player under the Gambling Act, Denmark adds you automatically to its “No thanks to gambling ads” scheme, and BetStop’s registered providers may not send you marketing messages.
Marketing you have consented to elsewhere — affiliate emails, sports tipping newsletters, social media accounts you follow — sits outside the scheme entirely. Unsubscribing from those is a separate job worth doing on the same day, while the resolve is fresh.
Common questions
Will self-exclusion affect my credit score?
No. These registers are held by gambling regulators and scheme operators, not credit reference agencies, and are not part of your credit file.
What happens to money in my account?
Operators are generally required to return your balance when they close a self-excluded account. If that does not happen, raise it with the operator and then the regulator.
Is self-exclusion enough on its own?
For some people it is the decisive step. For many it works best combined with blocking software, a bank block and treatment — see how to get help and gambling addiction explained.
About this page
Written by Jose Del Pozo. Every scheme above is cited to its own website or its national regulator, never to a third party. We take no money from gambling operators and never link to sites that accept self-excluded players — see funding and independence. Rules change; if you spot something out of date, our corrections policy explains how to tell us. Background on the wider framework is in what responsible gambling means.
Last reviewed: 20 September 2026. Sources checked on this date.