How to Register with GAMSTOP

GAMSTOP Online is a free self-exclusion service for people living in the United Kingdom. One registration is designed to restrict access to online and other remote gambling services offered by gambling businesses licensed in Great Britain.

What to prepare

GAMSTOP's current Terms of Use require accurate details that match the information used with gambling operators. Prepare:

• your full name and title;
• your date of birth;
• your current home address and postcode;
• other addresses or postcodes used with gambling operators;
• your primary email and other email addresses used with operators; and
• current and previous mobile numbers used with operators.

Use a private email account that only you can access. Do not send a password, one-time code, identity document, facial image, or payment information by ordinary email. If manual verification is necessary, ask the GAMSTOP Contact Centre for its current secure route.

How to register with GAMSTOP

What GAMSTOP covers

GAMSTOP covers websites, apps, and other remote gambling services provided by businesses licensed to offer them to people in Great Britain. The current Gambling Commission scheme directory describes it as one request for online operators.

It does not automatically cover:

• a website or service that does not participate in GAMSTOP;
• an unlicensed or offshore service merely because it accepts UK users;
• physical betting shops, casinos, bingo premises, or gaming centres;
• every gambling advertisement or third-party promotion;
• device access, network access, or every payment route; or
• account closure, data erasure, debt help, or treatment.

The Commission lists separate schemes for betting shops, casinos, bingo premises, and gaming centres. GAMSTOP Online and GAMSTOP Betting Shops are different registrations.

When the block should take effect

The public registration page says the block can take up to 24 hours. The binding terms add that activation is generally within 24 hours but is not guaranteed. Matching depends on the details supplied and on operator systems.

Keep your GAMSTOP details current throughout the exclusion. Sign in to the official GAMSTOP account to update the details available there. A name change requires Contact Centre help.

If you were able to gamble after the exclusion should have been active, stop using the account and use the separate Great Britain post-self-exclusion guide. It covers matching checks, evidence, operator complaints, Gambling Commission reporting, and ADR without promising a refund or legal outcome.

Minimum periods, auto-renewal, and removal

The selected minimum period cannot be ended early.

• 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years: the exclusion does not automatically end when the minimum expires. You can extend it or contact the GAMSTOP Contact Centre to complete the removal process.
• Removal after the minimum: GAMSTOP applies a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours after the removal contact. The exclusion stays active during that period.
• No removal request: the current terms say the exclusion can continue for up to seven further years after the initial minimum period and is then deactivated.
• 5 years with auto-renewal: another five-year minimum begins automatically. The terms allow four further five-year periods unless auto-renewal is turned off during the final six months of a current five-year period. Turning it off does not itself remove the exclusion after that period; the ordinary removal process still applies.

After a requested removal, GAMSTOP says it will tell operators for a further seven years that the person was previously self-excluded. An operator may choose to continue restricting access.

Accounts, balances, and marketing

Registration does not itself close each gambling account or automatically return withdrawable funds. GAMSTOP's terms say the operator is responsible for returning funds, and the route depends on that operator. Contact the operator through its current official route; do not deposit or wager again to try to unlock money.

The Gambling Commission's remote self-exclusion rule requires covered operators to close the gambling account for the exclusion, return account funds, remove access, take reasonable steps to prevent participation, and remove or flag the person in gambling-marketing databases within two days of the completed self-exclusion notification.

This does not promise that general advertising, third-party ads, administrative messages, or an unlicensed operator's marketing will stop.

What GAMSTOP collects and retains

The current privacy policy says GAMSTOP uses registration details, self-exclusion status, operator matching data, correspondence, account information, and identity-verification data to run the service. Information is shared with operators and service providers for matching, verification, administration, legal obligations, and related safeguards.

Core registration, status, contact, and account information can be retained through:

• the minimum exclusion period;
• a relevant seven-year active or post-self-exclusion period; and
• a further seven-year archive period.

The exact path depends on whether and when the exclusion is removed. The policy also says:

• GAMSTOP does not retain the Onfido biometric face scan after verification, but can retain the photo and official ID for up to three years;
• manually supplied identity documents are normally retained for 30 days, but can be kept with a case for up to seven years;
• calls can be recorded and retained for up to three months; and
• correspondence and email information can be retained for up to seven years.

Privacy rights, including erasure, are not absolute. Registration and self-exclusion are not anonymous, and closing a gambling account does not erase GAMSTOP's records.

Registration and account support

GAMSTOP's current contact information lists:

• email: helpdesk@gamstop.co.uk;
• phone: 0800 138 6518; and
• webchat.

Phone and webchat are listed as available 10am to 8pm, seven days a week. Use these routes for help with registration, details, extension, or the post-minimum removal process. Do not treat technical support as a crisis or counselling service.

For gambling support, the Gambling Commission currently lists the National Gambling Helpline at 0808 8020 133 in England and Scotland and the NHS Wales gambling helpline at 0808 2819 265 in Wales, free and available 24/7. Those Great Britain services are not presented as covering Northern Ireland. For Northern Ireland, Dunlewey Addiction Services lists its problem-gambling helpline as 08000 886 725, with free, confidential support and advice available 24/7.

Source review

This guide was reviewed on 24 July 2026 against GAMSTOP's registration page, Terms of Use updated 20 May 2026, Privacy Policy updated 9 July 2026, contact page, and the Gambling Commission's scheme and remote self-exclusion pages linked above. Registration screens, service providers, terms, contacts, hours, and regulatory requirements can change. Recheck the official page before submitting personal information or relying on a procedure.