GAMSTOP and Self-Exclusion at UK Online Casinos: How the National Scheme Works
Available in GB
GAMSTOP is the UK’s national online self-exclusion scheme. Every UKGC remote-licensed operator — every online casino, sportsbook, and bingo platform that accepts UK players — is required by the LCCP to integrate with GAMSTOP. A single registration excludes the player from every participating operator simultaneously, for the period the player chooses. This guide covers how GAMSTOP works, what happens to a player’s accounts during exclusion, and the re-entry process when an exclusion expires.
What GAMSTOP Is and Which Operators Are Covered
GAMSTOP is run as a non-profit (The Gamstop Group) under regulatory oversight from the UKGC, and integration is mandatory for every UK remote gambling operator. The scheme launched in April 2018; by the end of 2025, around 562,000 people had registered (GAMSTOP H2 2025 report). New sign-ups averaged 319 per day in the second half of 2025.
The scheme’s reach is total within its perimeter. Once a player registers and the exclusion is active, the player cannot create new accounts at any UKGC-licensed online operator and cannot access any existing accounts. The block is enforced at the operator level — every UKGC licensee queries GAMSTOP as part of identity verification.
What GAMSTOP does not cover: operators not licensed in the UK (offshore platforms), retail betting shops (those use the separate MOSES scheme, now Gamstop Betting Shops), and the National Lottery (which has its own self-exclusion register).
Registration, Exclusion Periods, and the Auto-Renewal Option
Registration is free and takes around five minutes. The site is at gamstop.co.uk. The required information is identity-level: full name, date of birth, address, and at least one email address; the more details provided (additional email addresses, common variants of the name), the more comprehensively the scheme can block sign-up attempts.
The player chooses the exclusion period at registration: six months, one year, or five years. In December 2024, GAMSTOP introduced a “five years with auto-renewal” option, designed as an effectively-permanent block unless the player actively opts out. By December 2025, more than half of five-year exclusion sign-ups were choosing the auto-renewal variant.
The five-year exclusion is the most-chosen period overall (47% of 2025 registrations). The six-month option is most popular among 16–24-year-old registrants, accounting for 38% of younger sign-ups (GAMSTOP H2 2025 report).
What Happens to Your Account, Funds, and Bonuses
What happens to an existing account when GAMSTOP exclusion activates: the operator must block further deposits and bets, return any positive cash balance to the player using the original deposit method (subject to AML and KYC compliance), and disable account-level promotional contact. The account is preserved in the operator’s records — the player can return to it after the exclusion ends — but is non-functional during the exclusion.
Bonus funds and unfulfilled wagering: these are typically forfeit. The reasoning is that the player has decided to stop, and forcing them to either continue playing to clear a bonus or to lose the bonus funds is incompatible with the spirit of self-exclusion. Most UK operators apply this rule. Cash that was deposited but not yet wagered is returned to the deposit method.
Marketing contact must also stop. UKGC LCCP requires operators to suppress promotional emails, SMS, and push notifications to GAMSTOP-excluded accounts during the exclusion period.
After the Exclusion Ends — Re-Entry Process
At the end of the chosen exclusion period, the registration does not automatically lift (except for the auto-renewal five-year option, which renews unless the player opts out). The player must actively request the exclusion to end. There is a built-in 24-hour cool-down between the request and the actual lifting of the block.
Re-entry does not restore the player’s previous account in a single click. The player has to go through the standard onboarding at each operator they wish to use — re-verifying identity, re-completing KYC, re-acknowledging responsible-gambling tools. The intent of the design is to make re-entry a deliberate choice, not an impulsive one.
Support Alongside Self-Exclusion
GAMSTOP is a structural tool; it doesn’t address the underlying reasons a player wants to stop. UK support organisations sit alongside the scheme:
- GamCare — National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133, 24/7.
- GambleAware — research, prevention, and treatment funding.
- NHS specialist gambling clinics — 15 sites in England since 2019, including services for affected family members.
For broader responsible-gambling tools that operate at the operator level rather than the network level, see the responsible gambling guide. If you’re considering account closure for reasons unrelated to gambling-harm — moving providers, no longer using the service — the account-closure guide covers the different process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Created by the ”Luck Casino” editorial team.
