What Is GamStop and How Does It Work?

GamStop is the closest thing the United Kingdom has to a single off switch for online gambling. You register once, for free, and every gambling operator licensed by the UK Gambling Commission has to block you — at sign-up, at login, and again when you try to deposit. It is genuinely effective infrastructure, and it is why the phrase “not on GamStop” exists at all.

This page covers what the scheme is, who runs it, how the blocking works, how long an exclusion lasts, and — the part that matters most here — the four things it does not cover. If you are reading this because you want around an exclusion you already have, there is a different page for you, and it is the more useful one.

What GamStop is and who runs it

GamStop is a register of people who have asked to be prevented from gambling online. It is not a regulator, not a government body, and not a treatment service. It is a database, a matching service, and a set of obligations placed on licensed operators.

The scheme is run by a company set up for the purpose. The copyright notice on the GamStop site names The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited, registered in England with company number 10504973 and a registered office in Harrogate. That tells you what kind of organisation you are dealing with: a private company funded by the industry whose access it governs, not a public authority. The registration is public and can be checked on Companies House.

Registration is free to the person using it. Participation is not voluntary for operators — holding a remote operating licence from the UK Gambling Commission carries a condition requiring participation in the national self-exclusion scheme and checks against it. An operator that stopped taking part would be in breach of its licence.

That is the crucial structural point: GamStop’s authority does not come from GamStop. It comes from the Gambling Commission, and it reaches exactly as far as the Commission’s licensing power reaches. Everything below follows from that.

How the blocking actually works

You supply your name, date of birth, current address and an email. You can add phone numbers. There is no fee and nobody to speak to. Licensed operators must then check those details at three points: at registration, before an account is opened; at login, every time you sign in; and before a deposit is accepted.

Matching is on your personal details rather than a unique identifier, which cuts both ways. A near match is usually enough — register as “Jonathan” and sign up as “Jon” and you may still be caught, which can block you from a site you did not expect. But the system is only as good as the details you gave it, so it is not a lock on a person.

Operators are also barred from sending marketing to anyone on the register. In practice that is one of the quieter benefits: the promotional emails stop.

How long an exclusion lasts

You choose the period when you register: 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. Once it starts it cannot be shortened, suspended or reversed — not by you, not by the operator. That is not an oversight in the design; it is the design. The value of the scheme is that it binds the version of you who registers on a bad night and would undo it the following morning.

One detail surprises almost everyone, and it comes from GamStop’s own published guidance rather than any small print. When your chosen period ends, your exclusion does not lift automatically. The record stays in place for a further seven years unless you take active steps to remove it. A six-month exclusion, left alone, keeps blocking you for seven and a half years. It cuts both ways: a protection if you want the barrier to stay up, a trap if you assumed the calendar would do the work.

Since late 2024 GamStop has also offered auto-renewal, so an exclusion can extend itself rather than expiring quietly. You can extend from your online account at any point, free of charge.

How to register with GamStop

1. Go to the official site The scheme lives at gamstop.co.uk. Register only there. Several commercial sites imitate the branding, and no legitimate route to self-exclusion requires a payment.
2. Enter your details exactly as they appear elsewhere The name on your ID and bank account, your date of birth, your current address and an email you actually read. A misspelling here is the most common reason a match is missed later.
3. Choose your period 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. There is no way to shorten it afterwards, so pick on the basis that you will not be able to change your mind — which is the point.
4. Confirm your email You will be sent a verification link. Until you click it, the registration is not active.
5. Tell nobody else, because there is nobody else to tell You do not need to contact individual casinos, and you should not. The obligation to check the register sits with them.

If you also want to be blocked at betting shops, casinos or bingo halls, that is a separate process — see the coverage section below.

How to cancel GamStop

There are two rules, and people usually only know the first.

You cannot cancel early. Not for a holiday, not for any reason. The exclusion runs for the period you chose and the operator has no discretion to let you back in.

When the period ends, removal is an active process. You sign in, confirm your exclusion has expired, and complete the removal steps. GamStop sends a removal email acknowledging the request, and then there is a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours during which you can change your mind and cancel it. Only after that does the exclusion come off.

So the honest answer to “how long does it take to cancel GamStop?” is: at least 24 hours, and only once the period you chose has expired. If you have lost access to the account, contact GamStop directly — they handle removal by email and phone as well.

Who is covered, and who is not

GamStop reaches operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission to offer remote gambling to consumers in Great Britain — the online casinos, sportsbooks, bingo sites, poker rooms and slots sites that advertise on British television. It does not reach the following, and this list is why this website exists:

• Offshore casinos. Operators licensed in Curaçao, Anjouan, Malta or anywhere else have no UK licence and no obligation to join. They did not opt out; they were never in it. This is the largest gap.
• Land-based gambling. Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and adult gaming centres sit outside the online scheme. Separate multi-operator arrangements exist for those sectors, and you have to ask — they are not triggered by a GamStop registration.
• The National Lottery. Regulated under its own framework rather than the licensing regime that governs operators, and not part of the scheme.
• Products that are not gambling in law. Spread betting and other FCA-regulated financial products, prize draws, loot boxes, and the trading apps that behave like betting but sit outside the Gambling Act.
• Unlicensed social and crypto-native casinos. Sites operating without any gambling licence are outside every scheme, by definition.

One caveat on geography: GamStop’s own guidance is framed around Great Britain. Northern Ireland has a separate licensing regime and coverage there is not something we can state with confidence. If you are in Northern Ireland, ask GamStop directly rather than assuming.

What GamStop does not do

• It does not block offshore casinos. A site licensed in Curaçao will not check the register, and will not know or care that you are on it. Any casino described as “not on GamStop” is describing exactly this gap.
• It does not stop gambling in person. The high-street bookmaker, the casino, the bingo hall and the arcade are all outside it.
• It does not stop you registering under different details. Matching is on name, date of birth, address and email. It is not proof of identity.
• It does not return your money. An operator that blocks you may still hold a balance. Getting it back means contacting the operator — the scheme blocks access, it does not settle accounts.
• It is not a credit record. Registering does not appear on your credit file and is not visible to lenders, landlords or employers.
• It is not treatment. It is a barrier, and a good one. A barrier is not the same as addressing why the barrier was needed.

GamStop vs other blocking tools

GamStop is one layer. It is the widest single layer for online gambling in Britain, but it is not the only one, and the layers cover different things. Prices and device limits for commercial products change regularly; the figures below are what we have been able to establish rather than a quotation.

The combination most people find works is not one tool but three: GAMSTOP for the licensed market, blocking software for the offshore gap, and a bank block on the money. That is covered in more detail, with the support services that go with it, on the GamStop alternatives page.