GamStop Alternatives and Where to Get Help
If you came to this page looking for a way around GamStop, it will not give you one. What it will give you is the list of things that actually work — the software that blocks the sites GamStop cannot reach, the bank settings that stop the money before it leaves, and the people you can talk to, with their real phone numbers and hours.
One thing worth saying at the start, because it is true and almost nobody says it out loud: wanting around an exclusion you set for yourself is extremely common. It is not a character flaw and it does not mean the exclusion failed. It means the thing you were protecting yourself from is still there, which is exactly what the exclusion was for. The answer is not more willpower. It is more layers, and some support.
This page is about help, not about casinos. There are no offers, no links to operators and nothing to sign up to. Everything below is either free or priced by the vendor, and the support services are free and confidential. You do not have to be in crisis to use any of them.
Why blocking one site does not solve it
The instinct, when gambling has become a problem, is to close the account you were using. It is a reasonable first move and it rarely holds, because the account was never really the problem.
There are thousands of online casinos, and the market is built to make switching effortless. If one site is closed, another opens in the time it takes to enter an email address and a card number. If card deposits are blocked, there is an e-wallet. If the e-wallet is blocked, there is crypto. Each new route takes minutes to find and feels, in the moment, like a solution rather than a symptom.
There is a second reason single-site blocking fails, and it is less obvious. An exclusion you go around teaches you that your own decisions can be overridden when the urge is strong enough — which makes the next exclusion easier to override too. Over time the barrier stops being a barrier, not because it was weak but because it was defeated once and you watched it happen.
What changes outcomes is layers, aimed at different points in the chain: friction where the money is, a block where the sites are, and support for the person doing the gambling. The point is not that any one layer is unbreakable. It is that getting through all of them takes long enough for the urge to pass, and that getting through them at all means telling someone.
Blocking software
Blocking software runs on your own devices and blocks gambling sites and apps at the device level. This is the layer that covers the gap GamStop cannot reach, because it does not care what licence a site holds. If a site is on the block list, it does not load.
| Product | What it does, what it costs, and how hard it is to remove |
|---|---|
| Gamban | Blocks gambling sites and apps on iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, including offshore operators outside GAMSTOP. A paid subscription with a 7-day trial. Published prices vary between sources and have changed over time — we have seen it reported at roughly £3 to £5 a month and around £25 to £30 a year, with one licence covering a substantial number of devices (reports say up to 15). Check Gamban’s own pricing page, because this is exactly the kind of detail that dates. |
| BetBlocker | Free, charity-funded blocking software covering a comparable range of gambling sites and apps across a wider set of platforms than most people expect. You can set a block for a chosen duration, which matters: a block set for six months is a different thing from a block you can switch off on a Tuesday night. If cost is the obstacle, start here. |
| Gamblock | Another paid blocking product in the same category. We have not been able to verify its current coverage, pricing or device limits, so we are not going to describe them. If you are comparing it with the two above, check the vendor’s own site and treat any comparison you read elsewhere — including this one — as something to verify rather than trust. |
Two limitations apply to all of them. They only cover devices you install them on — a work laptop, a partner’s phone, a tablet in a drawer, a games console browser. And removal resistance varies, and it is the feature that matters. The best-designed products make removal a deliberate, slow process: a support request, a waiting period, a confirmation step. That friction is not an inconvenience; it is the product. A blocker you can uninstall in thirty seconds is a speed bump.
Bank-level blocks
If you only do one thing on this page, do this one. A bank-level gambling block stops the money before it leaves your account, which means it works on offshore sites, on sites you have not discovered yet, and on sites that have not been invented. It is free, it takes about two minutes, and it is the layer with the fewest ways around it.
Most UK banks offer it as a setting in the app, usually under card controls, security settings or payment controls. It declines transactions the card scheme has coded as gambling. Banks that offer some form of gambling block, as far as we have been able to establish, include:
- Monzo, Starling and Revolut — app-based banks with a gambling block in the app, and in Monzo’s case a reported 48-hour delay before it can be lifted.
- Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland — a gambling block available through the app or online banking.
- NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank — a gambling block with a cooling-off period before it can be turned off.
- Barclays, Santander, HSBC, First Direct and Nationwide — gambling transaction blocks available on cards.
That list is a starting point rather than a guarantee, because availability and the exact mechanism change, and some banks offer a card block while others offer a merchant-category block. Ask specifically for the one that blocks gambling merchants, and ask two questions:
- How long is the cooling-off period before I can turn it off? This is the number that determines whether the block is real. Monzo’s reported 48 hours is the longest we have seen among the app banks; others are shorter, and a block you can switch off instantly protects you only from yourself at your calmest. Sources differ on the exact delay at each bank, so check yours.
- Does it cover card payments only, or transfers too? Most blocks catch card transactions. They generally do not catch bank transfers, standing orders, direct debits or a card payment to a crypto exchange. If your pattern includes those, ask what else can be restricted — some banks will apply extra controls if you ask.
A block you set up in a calm moment and can undo in an uncalm one is worth having but is not enough on its own. Set it, then add a device-level blocker, then tell one person. Layers that fail at different moments are what make the difference.
Self-exclusion elsewhere
Blocking software and bank blocks are things you install. Self-exclusion is different: a formal instruction to an operator, which the operator must apply and keep applying. There are several schemes and they do not automatically connect.
- GAMSTOP — the online scheme for Great Britain. One free registration blocks you from every operator licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, at sign-up, at login and at deposit. You choose 6 months, 1 year or 5 years, and it cannot be lifted early. Note the rule that catches people out: when your chosen period ends, the record stays in place for a further seven years unless you complete the removal process. If you want the protection to continue, doing nothing is the safer option. Full detail is on our what is GamStop page.
- Individual operators. Every UK-licensed operator must offer self-exclusion on its own site, for a period you choose. Narrower than GAMSTOP, but useful if there is one account you want closed, or if you want to close accounts at offshore sites GAMSTOP does not reach. It is in the account settings under responsible or safer gambling — use the formal tool rather than emailing support to ask them to close it.
- Land-based venues. Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and adult gaming centres are outside GAMSTOP, and each sector runs its own multi-operator arrangement. Ask the venue or the trade body for that sector. These are not automatic and are not triggered by a GAMSTOP registration.
- The National Lottery. Not part of GAMSTOP. If you want to stop playing, the operator can apply an account restriction or self-exclusion if you ask.
- Extending what you already have. If your GAMSTOP period is running out and you are not certain, you can extend it from your account, and auto-renewal has been available since late 2024. Extending is free and takes minutes. Extending an exclusion is the decision that deserves caution, not removing one — if you are unsure, extend.
Support organisations and helplines
These are the services that exist in the UK. All are free, all are confidential, and none require you to describe yourself as an addict before they will speak to you.
| Service | What it offers and how to reach it |
|---|---|
| National Gambling Helpline | 0808 8020 133 — free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The single number to remember. Delivered by GamCare, and it is for anyone affected by gambling, including partners, family and friends. You can call about someone else. |
| GamCare | Runs the National Gambling Helpline above, and offers free one-to-one counselling, group support, online chat and a moderated forum at gamcare.org.uk. Advisers are trained and non-judgemental, and you can ask about practical things — blocks, limits, how to tell someone — without discussing your own gambling at all. |
| BeGambleAware | begambleaware.org — funds and commissions treatment, prevention and research in Great Britain, and runs a service finder showing local and online support based on where you are. Useful if you want face-to-face help rather than a phone line. |
| Gamblers Anonymous | gamblersanonymous.org.uk — peer-support meetings, in person and online, based on a 12-step programme. For partners, family and friends, GamAnon runs the parallel organisation at gamanon.org.uk. The value is talking to people who have been in the same position, which is not the same as talking to a professional. |
| Gambling Therapy | gamblingtherapy.org — free online support including text-based groups and one-to-one sessions, run by the charity Gordon Moody. If you would rather type than talk, or do not want to use a phone, this is the route. Support is available in several languages. |
| Gordon Moody | gordonmoody.org.uk — residential and intensive treatment for severe gambling problems, plus online programmes. The option where outpatient support has not been enough. |
| NHS gambling clinics | Specialist NHS treatment, free at the point of use, including the National Problem Gambling Clinic and the NHS Northern Gambling Service, with further clinics opened in a number of cities. Referral is usually through your GP. |
| Debt and money advice | StepChange (stepchange.org), National Debtline (nationaldebtline.org) and Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk) all deal with gambling debt specifically, and all are free. Gambling debt often has features ordinary debt advice handles differently, so say where the debt came from when you make contact. |
| Urgent and crisis | If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. If you are in crisis and need someone to talk to now, the Samaritans are on 116 123, free, 24 hours a day. |
One note on a scheme you may have read about. TalkBanStop brought GamCare, Gamban and GAMSTOP together, and free Gamban licences were made available through GamCare as part of it. Sources differ on whether that free route is still running — we have seen it reported as having ended — so if a free licence is what would make the difference, ask GamCare directly rather than assuming either way.
Talking to someone
The blocks are the easy part. Saying it out loud is the hard part, and it is the part that tends to change things.
You do not need to have a problem to call. You do not need to be sure. You do not need to use the word “addiction”, and you do not need to have lost anything. The helpline takes calls from people who are worried, from people who are not sure whether they are worried enough, and from people calling about someone else.
You can call and ask nothing more than how to set up a bank block. That is allowed, it is useful, and it is a completely legitimate reason to ring a number that exists for exactly this. If you would rather type than speak, use the online chat at GamCare or Gambling Therapy instead — the same conversations happen there. And if you have already been around an exclusion once, or twice, that is worth saying when you make contact. It is common, it is not the end of the attempt, and the fact that you are reading this page at all is information in your favour.
0808 8020 133 — free, 24 hours a day, every day.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a way to play at casinos while still on GamStop?
Technically yes — offshore casinos are not connected to the scheme, which is the entire subject of this website. But if you are on GamStop because gambling was causing you harm, using that gap does not get you around the problem; it moves you somewhere with less protection and no recourse. The National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 is free and open 24 hours a day.
What is the single most effective thing I can do right now?
Ask your bank to switch on a gambling block. It is free, it takes a couple of minutes in the app or on the phone, it works on offshore sites, and it stops the money rather than the website. Then check how long the cooling-off period is before you can turn it off — that number is what makes the block real.
Which blocking software is best?
BetBlocker is free and charity-run and does the core job, so there is no reason to start with a paid product. Gamban is the better-known paid option and covers the major platforms; its published price has changed over time and different sources quote different figures, so check its own site. What matters more than the brand is how hard the product is to remove.
Does self-exclusion at one casino cover all of them?
No. Self-exclusion on one operator’s site applies to that operator only. GAMSTOP is the scheme that covers the whole UK-licensed online market from a single registration. Land-based venues run separate sector schemes, and none of these connect automatically.
Can I get help if I am calling about someone else?
Yes. The National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 is for anyone affected by gambling, including partners, family members and friends, and GamCare offers support specifically for affected others. GamAnon, at gamanon.org.uk, runs peer meetings for the families and friends of gamblers.
Does my GAMSTOP exclusion end automatically?
No, and this surprises most people. When the period you chose expires, the record stays in place for a further seven years unless you contact GAMSTOP and complete the removal process. Removal is followed by a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours. If you want the protection to continue, doing nothing keeps it in force, and you can extend it from your account at any time for free.