01 — Editorial Position
Why this page exists
This site covers offshore casinos. It would be dishonest to do that without saying clearly, in one place, what our position is on the intersection between offshore casinos and self-exclusion. That position is: if you have registered with GamStop, we do not think you should use offshore casinos, and this site does not link to or promote any operator sign-up page from any content that discusses self-exclusion. That is a considered editorial decision rather than a legal requirement.
The rest of this page explains what GamStop is, what the additional tools available to UK players do, and — if you are here because your existing self-exclusion is being tested — what to do next.
02 — How GamStop Works
The mechanics of the national scheme
GamStop is the UK's national self-exclusion register. It is operated by the National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Limited, a not-for-profit company funded by UKGC licensees, and integration with GamStop has been a mandatory licence condition since 2020. When a person registers, all UKGC-licensed online gambling operators are required to block them from opening new accounts and to lock any existing accounts for the duration of the exclusion.
The scheme offers three fixed exclusion periods: six months, one year, and five years. Once an exclusion is in force, it cannot be lifted before the period expires. At the end of the period, the person must actively request reactivation of their gambling accounts and complete a twenty-four-hour cooling-off before that reactivation takes effect. Unless the person requests reactivation, the exclusion continues indefinitely.
Registration is free, takes about ten minutes online, and applies to gambling accounts opened under the name, email address, date of birth, postcode and mobile number the person supplies. Operators are required to match against this information reasonably rigorously. The technical scope is limited to online gambling; retail betting shops, casinos and bingo halls are covered by separate self-exclusion schemes.
03 — Where GamStop Ends
The offshore gap and what to do about it
Because GamStop's mandate is delivered through the UKGC's licence conditions, it applies only to UKGC licensees. Offshore casinos hold no UKGC licence and are therefore outside the scheme's technical scope. This is the practical origin of "non-GamStop" as a category. It is not, as some coverage implies, a category defined by any particular casino feature — it is defined by what the casino is not obliged to do.
The consequence is that a person who has self-excluded via GamStop can, in most cases, still open an account at an offshore casino if they choose to look for one. This creates the risk that self-exclusion becomes a partial barrier rather than the complete one many people believed they were signing up for.
The response is to add layers rather than to give up on the layers you already have. GamStop is not a fence — it is one lever in a system, and it is most effective when other levers are also engaged.
04 — Additional Layers
Gamban, BetBlocker and financial blocks
Gamban is a paid software subscription that installs on phones, tablets and computers and blocks access to gambling sites, including offshore ones. The block list is maintained centrally and is meaningfully more comprehensive than any browser-level filter. Once installed and password-protected by a trusted third party, Gamban is effectively irreversible for the term of the subscription. GamCare offers Gamban free to people using its support services.
BetBlocker is a free, charity-run alternative that offers similar site-blocking coverage. It runs on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Both Gamban and BetBlocker are additive — they can be run alongside each other for redundancy — and both address a class of access that GamStop alone cannot.
Financial blocks at the bank level are the third layer. Monzo, Starling, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, and most other UK retail banks offer a gambling block toggle in their mobile apps that prevents card transactions to any merchant classified as a gambling business. Once engaged, most bank blocks include a cooling-off delay of one to two days before they can be lifted, which turns the impulsive transaction into a deliberate one. This layer is genuinely effective and free.
05 — Support
Professional support in the UK
If you are reading this because your gambling has become a problem, please make use of the professional support that exists. It is free, confidential, and available now.
- National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133, twenty-four hours a day, free from any UK phone.
- GamCare: live chat, NetLine, and structured counselling at gamcare.org.uk.
- BeGambleAware: a directory of local face-to-face support at begambleaware.org.
- Gambling Therapy: free online support and multilingual counselling at gamblingtherapy.org.
None of these services will judge you. All of them have supported many thousands of people through experiences similar to yours. The first call is usually the hardest step; everything from there tends to be easier.
If you need to talk to someone now
National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133. Free from any UK phone. Twenty-four hours a day.
06 — Editorial Note
A note on how this page was written
This page was written by Doreen Whitfield, our safer gambling counsellor and a BACP-registered practitioner. It has been reviewed by the wider editorial team but nothing on it has been changed to make it more commercially favourable to the operators covered elsewhere on the site. That is a deliberate editorial choice.
Frequently Asked
Questions readers ask most often
GamStop self-exclusions run for a fixed minimum period of six months, one year, or five years, and cannot be lifted before that period expires. At the end of the period the exclusion does not lift automatically; the person must actively request reactivation and complete a twenty-four-hour cooling-off. If the exclusion is not reactivated, it continues in place.
A small number of offshore operators cross-check GamStop as a voluntary measure. This is not the norm and cannot be relied on. A GamStop registration is not a barrier to opening an offshore account at most sites.
The right first step is to call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. It is free, confidential and available every hour of every day. GamCare offers ongoing counselling. Adding Gamban and BetBlocker as software layers reduces impulsive access materially. Please do not treat searching for a workaround to your own decision as a plan.