Gambling Self-Exclusion: How It Works and How to Sign Up

Self-exclusion is a formal agreement to keep yourself out of gambling. You ask a gambling company or a regulator-backed register to refuse your custom for a set period, and licensed operators must then block your accounts and stop marketing to you. It is one of the more effective practical barriers because it is designed to be hard to undo in a weak moment. It is not a treatment, it only covers the operators in the scheme, and it works best alongside support. See How to Stop Gambling: Practical, Evidence-Based Steps.

What self-exclusion is

When you self-exclude you are asking operators to stop you gambling. Features common to most schemes:

• A fixed period that you choose, such as months or years, and sometimes lifetime.
• A commitment that is hard or impossible to cancel before the period ends. The purpose is to protect you from a decision made in a high-risk moment.
• Operator duties. Participating operators check the list, close or block your accounts and stop promotional messages.
• Your responsibility. You have to stay away from gambling that the scheme does not reach, and you can still gamble with companies outside it.

Online registers

UK: GAMSTOP

GAMSTOP is the national online self-exclusion register for Great Britain. On its pages:

• Cost and sign-up. It describes blocking yourself as free, quick and easy. You register on the site. Anyone living in the UK can register.
• Periods. You choose 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or 5 years with auto-renewal.
• Coverage. The block applies to online gambling companies licensed in Great Britain. It can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
• Money in accounts. Registering does not automatically return funds you could withdraw. You need to contact each gambling company yourself.
• Updating and extending. You can use your GAMSTOP account to update your details and extend your registration.
• Other GAMSTOP services. Separate services cover betting shops, and other schemes cover land-based casinos, arcades and bingo premises. GAMSTOP's practical-support page lists them.

The NHS lists signing up for GAMSTOP, installing Gamban and asking your bank to block gambling payments as self-help steps. GambleAware also lists free blocking and self-exclusion tools for people in Great Britain.

Other regions

Many jurisdictions with regulated online gambling run a self-exclusion list or require each operator to offer one. They differ in length, in whether you register once or per operator, and in what happens at the end. Your national or state gambling regulator is the place to look, and a helpline can point you to it. See Gambling Helplines by Country (Checked Oct 2026).

Venue-based programmes (casinos, betting shops, bingo)

Casinos and other venues often run their own programmes, in which you register in person or through a regulator.

In the United States, programmes are run state by state, so rules are not the same everywhere. The National Council on Problem Gambling's comparison of state online gambling rules shows how they vary: some states offer one-year, five-year and lifetime options, some are irrevocable during the period, and in some states you must file a form with the regulator to be removed when the period ends rather than being removed automatically. The council's own standards call for self-exclusions to be irrevocable until they expire. Look up the programme on your state gaming regulator's website, or ask the National Problem Gambling Helpline.

For Great Britain, GAMSTOP's practical-support page lists separate schemes for betting shops, land-based casinos, adult gaming centres and arcades, and bingo premises.

What self-exclusion does not cover

• Social casino and free-to-play casino-style apps. These offer virtual coins, not gambling for prizes. They are not licensed gambling operators in the way that GAMSTOP and most venue schemes mean, so a self-exclusion agreement does not normally reach them. Check the scope on the register's own site. If you want to avoid them, delete the apps, remove saved cards and use blocking software. See Gambling Blockers: Gamban, BetBlocker and Bank Blocks.
• Unlicensed or offshore sites. GAMSTOP applies to companies licensed in Great Britain. Operators outside a scheme's reach are not bound by it, and a self-exclusion gives you no protection there. Do not go looking for them.
• Informal gambling. Betting with friends, private games and cash.
• Cards and cash. Self-exclusion does not stop you using money. Bank blocks and shared control of accounts help here.
• Urges. It does not remove them. See Gambling Urges: How to Cope Until They Pass.

How to also block apps

Pair self-exclusion with blocking software, which works at device level, and phone settings that restrict app installs and purchases. Gambling Blockers: Gamban, BetBlocker and Bank Blocks covers BetBlocker, Gamban, bank blocks and iPhone Screen Time.

Ending exclusion

• You usually cannot end it early. That is the design. Do not expect a company to let you out because you ask nicely.
• At the end of the period. Rules vary. Some schemes lapse automatically; some require you to apply to be removed; GAMSTOP offers an auto-renewing five-year option. Read your scheme's terms and write down the end date.
• Think before you leave. Before an exclusion ends, speak to your counsellor or a helpline about how you will handle access to gambling again. If you feel the pull to end an exclusion early, treat it as a sign to reach out; see Gambling Relapse: What to Do After a Slip.

How to sign up

1. Decide on a period that is longer than you think you need.
2. Find the scheme for your country or state, starting with the regulator's site or the helpline.
3. Gather the details you need, such as ID and contact details, and sign up on the official site only. Beware of lookalike sites.
4. Add blocking software and bank blocks.
5. Tell someone you trust, and consider calling a helpline for support through the first weeks.