GAMSTOP has reached the milestone of recording more than 500,000 registrations for its self-exclusion scheme for online gambling.
This morning, GAMSTOP, which operates the national self-exclusion scheme across all UK-licensed online gambling operators, stated that “half a million vulnerable consumers have registered with GAMSTOP since 2018.”
The milestone follows a record-breaking April, which saw GAMSTOP register 8,686 users, marking its highest-ever volume for self-exclusion.
At present, GAMSTOP has prevented more than 440,000 users from engaging with online gambling operators, half of whom have chosen the longest exclusion period of up to five years.
The announcement that half a million consumers have registered to self-exclude comes ahead of the third annual Self-Exclusion Day on September 12th, when clubs from all divisions in the football pyramid will come together to raise awareness about GAMSTOP among their supporters.
Self-exclusion messaging will be displayed at EFL football grounds on the weekend of September 7-8, and digital assets will be posted on partner clubs’ social channels.
GAMSTOP CEO, Fiona Palmer, said: “We have come a very long way since our launch in April 2018, and GAMSTOP is now widely recognized as an important tool to help vulnerable consumers take a break from their gambling. We are proud to have been able to help hundreds of thousands of people take back control of their lives through self-exclusion, and we hope to help many more in the years to come.
It is right that we regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the service through independent research, and we will shortly be announcing the results of a comprehensive listening exercise conducted by Ipsos, who have surveyed thousands of GAMSTOP’s users.”
The Gambling Commission’s most recent research provides new insights into gambling-related harm, which will help to inform GAMSTOP’s outreach strategy. 2.5% of all survey respondents reported suffering from problem gambling, with men and those under 35 experiencing higher rates of harm.
Data from the first half of 2024 showed that the age of GAMSTOP registrants is falling, with one in two registrants in that period aged 16-35, and a 12% year-on-year increase in the number of 16–24-year-olds choosing to exclude themselves from all online gambling sites.
The second independent evaluation of GAMSTOP will be published later in September. Ipsos surveyed more than 4,650 GAMSTOP users, and 78% said that GAMSTOP had delivered the results they were hoping for, with 75% feeling more in control of their gambling choices.
The full research will be shared with gambling operators at a webinar on September 19th. Ipsos investigated GAMSTOP’s effectiveness in reducing gambling harm and how it supports its users alongside other forms of gambling prevention and support.
