Get the full analysis here – A 6% increase in self-exclusions and a rise in Gamstop UK gambling market sign-ups for 2022. (Image by Markus Spiske on Unsplash )
In 2022, the GamStop system recorded 84,000 new player sign-ups for the system and a 6% rise in players using the self-exclusion option. The organisation says this is a positive step and shows people are more conscious of how they choose to gamble.
GamStop is a system all online gambling sites serving the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) must make the website available to members (or make them aware) as a part of gaining or even keeping their UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licence.
The system tracks self-registered players who exclude from real money gambling. Once this happens, the casino’ auto-sends the settings for that player account to a central UK self-exclusion register.
This central database is accessible by all gambling establishments in the country, and when a new player signs up to their casino, a check against the GamStop database will reveal if the player has self-excluded from any other gambling site be it sports betting, iGaming, lottery, bingo, and so on.
If a player is already on the self-exclusion register and his or her exclusion is still active, the casino will refuse to allow the member’s account to gamble or make real money deposits.
What’s more, players that use self-exclusion cannot reverse their decision. And by law, online gambling sites cannot reverse the decision either. Doing so, which I doubt any gambling websites’ system has the option to do so anyway, would mean an instant fine by the UKGC. It could also result in the operator losing its UKGC licensing.
Some say that it forces some UK gamblers to seek out black market online gambling websites as reported in the recent 250000 UK players visited black market gambling sites news report. However, the culprit of this large 250,000 figure is likely UK players seeking out cryptocurrency casinos and sports books as right now no UK online gambling sites accept cryptos.
Our point of view: Obviously, this is a great system and as you will discover below, a much needed one. That said, it hasn’t come without its fair share of criticism too.
341,365 Players Chose to Self-Exclude Over 4 Years
From 2018 to 2022, 2018 being when GamStop came into the UK gambling market, 341,365 players opted to self-exclude from real money gambling. This includes players from the millions of UK gambling accounts registered prior to 2018.
Over half of the recorded 341,365 players using the self-exclusion tool opted for the 5-year option. As for the year-on-year trend, GamStop recorded a 5% increase in registrations for the first 6 months of 2022 and a 6% increase for the entire year.
Check out more stats in the accompanying box to the right if you are reading from a desktop or large screen table, and below for mobile users.
Gamcare Self-exclusion Stats
(UK Online Gambling)
- 341,365 self-excluded in 4 years
- 24% self-excluded for 1 year
- 50% self-excluded for 5 years
- 6% increase for the entire year
- 5% increase in first 6 months
Does GamStop Offer Deposit/Loss Limits: No. The deposit and loss limit settings found at UK online gambling sites are built into the platform. All online casinos in the UK must offer these settings under the user profile section. Also, the MGA enforces this rule too!
How does self-exclusion work?
Self-exclusion renders the real money portion of your online casino account inactive. You still have the option to withdraw funds, however. There are also set periods of time available to self-exclude.
- Cooling Off Period ‘or’ Timeout: UK gambling sites usually use this terminology for short periods of time in which players can ban themselves from real money gaming.
- Self-Exclusion: This terminology is in place to denote longer periods of time players can exclude themselves from real money gambling. Depending on the site, they can be 3 months to 5 years. There is also the option to self-exclude indefinitely.
Typical Self-Exclusion Periods
- Take a Break: Select a number of days!
- Self-Exclude: At Least 6+ Months
What about your privacy? If you have any questions about data held by GamStop, you can visit the company’s website ‘My Data’ section here. The FAQs cover ‘Data Sharing’ and ‘Data Retention’.
Leave A Comment