GamStop is the UK's national online self-exclusion scheme. It is free, it is run by a not-for-profit, and every operator holding a UK Gambling Commission licence is legally required to be connected to it.
This page explains what it actually does, because a lot of what is written about it online is wrong.
What GamStop covers
Registration blocks your details across every UKGC-licensed gambling site — casino, bingo, sportsbook and lottery operators alike. It matches on name, date of birth, email, postcode and mobile number, so opening a new account with a different email at the same operator does not work.
It does not cover: offshore operators without a UKGC licence, betting shops and land-based venues, or the National Lottery's retail products.
How long it lasts
- The shortest term you can choose is six months.
- The other options are one year and five years.
- The clock starts the moment registration completes, not when you next try to log in.
Can you cancel GamStop early?
No. This is the question we are asked most often and the answer does not have a caveat. Once a self-exclusion period has started it cannot be shortened, reversed or cancelled, by you or by GamStop. That is deliberate — an exclusion you can undo in a bad moment is not an exclusion.
What happens when the period ends
It does not lift automatically. When your term expires the exclusion stays in force until you actively contact GamStop and ask for it to be removed. There is then a 24-hour cooling-off period before UK accounts reopen.
If you do nothing, the exclusion simply continues. Many people never reactivate, and that is a perfectly normal outcome.
Are all online casinos on GamStop?
Only those with a UK Gambling Commission licence. Operators licensed in Anjouan, Curaçao or Costa Rica are outside UKGC jurisdiction and are not connected to the database. That is a description of how licensing works, not a recommendation.
If the exclusion is doing its job
If you registered with GamStop because gambling had become a problem, the honest advice is to leave it in place and get support. It is free and confidential:
- GamCare — 0808 8020 133, 24 hours, free and confidential
- BeGambleAware — begambleaware.org
- Gamban / GamBlock — device-level blocking software that covers offshore sites too
- Bank gambling blocks — most UK banks offer one in-app, with a cooling-off period on removal
How the matching actually works
GamStop matches on a combination of identifiers rather than a single one: name, date of birth, email address, postcode and mobile number. That is deliberate. Matching on email alone would be trivial to sidestep; matching across five fields means an operator's registration check flags you even if you change some of them.
Operators are required to run that check at registration and again periodically for existing accounts. That is why an exclusion registered today closes accounts you opened years ago, at operators you had forgotten about, usually within 24 hours.
The scheme does not hold payment details, gambling history or balances. It holds identity fields and an exclusion end date, nothing more.
What happens to money already in your accounts
Operators must return any remaining balance to you. This is a licence condition, not a courtesy, and it applies whether the account is closed by you or by the exclusion.
In practice most operators process it automatically within a few days. If yours does not, contact them in writing and reference the requirement. If they still do not, the complaint goes to their alternative dispute resolution provider, whose details must be published on their site.
Bonuses and free spins are a different matter — those are promotional credit rather than your money, and they are forfeited. Only your own deposited and won funds are returnable.
What GamStop does not cover
- Land-based venues. Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and arcades run separate schemes. For bookmakers and casinos the equivalent is a multi-operator self-exclusion administered through the Betting and Gaming Council; you register in person or through their scheme.
- The National Lottery. Retail products sit outside GamStop entirely. The National Lottery operates its own self-exclusion for online play.
- Offshore operators. Sites without a UKGC licence are not connected. This is the gap the whole non-GamStop category exists in.
- Trading and crypto platforms. Spread betting and high-leverage trading are regulated as financial products, not gambling, and are untouched by GamStop.
Layering the blocks — what actually holds
GamStop on its own has a known limitation, and it is worth being direct about it: it covers UK-licensed sites and nothing else. People who find that insufficient generally layer three more tools on top, and the combination is far harder to work around than any single one.
Blocking software
Gamban and GamBlock install on your devices and block gambling sites at the application level, including offshore ones. Gamban is provided free to UK residents through GamCare's funding, so there is no cost barrier. Removal typically requires a licence key you do not hold, which is the point.
Bank gambling blocks
Most UK banks now offer a gambling block in their app — Monzo, Starling, Lloyds, Halifax, Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, Santander and others. It works by declining transactions with a gambling merchant category code.
The important detail is the cooling-off period on removal. Monzo and Starling apply 48 hours, several others 24 to 72 hours. That delay is the entire value of the feature: it removes the ability to act on an impulse, which is when almost all relapses happen.
Card and crypto routes
Bank blocks catch card payments to gambling merchants. They do not always catch a crypto exchange purchase, because the exchange is not coded as gambling. Anyone using a bank block seriously should ask their bank to block card payments to exchanges too, which most will do on request.
If you are here because you want the exclusion to end
That feeling is normal and it is not a sign of weakness. It is also the single most predictable moment in the whole process, which is exactly why the six-month minimum and the 24-hour cooling-off exist. Both were designed by people who knew this moment would arrive.
Two things worth knowing. The urge to gamble is time-limited — it rises, peaks and falls, usually within twenty to thirty minutes, whether or not you act on it. And relapse rates fall sharply the longer an exclusion runs, which is why five-year terms exist at all.
If it would help to talk to someone about it right now rather than deciding alone:
- GamCare — 0808 8020 133, free, confidential, 24 hours a day, and they will not lecture you.
- National Gambling Helpline live chat — via gamcare.org.uk if a phone call is too much.
- Gordon Moody — residential and intensive treatment for severe gambling harm.
- GamFam — support for family members, who are frequently the people who need it most and ask for it least.
If you joined GamStop because gambling was becoming a problem, this page is not for you. GamStop exists because it works. Free, confidential help is available from GamCare on 0808 8020 133, and from BeGambleAware.