Gamstop is a mainstay term in gambling and casino circles in the United Kingdom but some who are unfamiliar with it might wonder what it means. In promotional material for casinos and websites that offer gambling services, there is often mention about a Gamstop license or affiliation.
So, what does it mean when a casino or website has a Gamstop license, and what about casinos not on Gamstop? These are important to know as they have great implications for the types of services a customer can make use of when accessing gambling or online casinos.
What is Gamstop?
Gamstop is a free online self-exclusion service that allows consumers to voluntarily restrict their use of online gambling sites in the United Kingdom. Gamstop was founded and is run by a not-for-profit organization called The National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Limited and works to help curb gambling addiction among internet users.
Gamstop only requires users to register on their website and users in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, can have their online gambling services restricted for a certain amount of time.
How Does it Work?
So how does Gamstop work? In order to access Gamstop, users will need to register with an account on their website. As part of the account registration process, users will need to provide all past and present postcodes, phone numbers, home addresses, email addresses, and their date of birth. After this is provided, users will be sent resources for battling gambling addiction, and 24 hours after their registration, the restrictions will be put in place.
The restrictions in question are to last for a predetermined amount of time which can be 6-months, a year, or 5-years. It should be noted that once these restrictions are agreed to, the user will not be able to access any gambling websites or casinos that are registered with the Gamstop license scheme.
Because users need to register for gambling websites with their personal details, the website will be able to detect if the user has signed up for the self-exclusion program and if they have, they will not be granted access to services.
Additionally, users cannot remove the restrictions before the minimum time has elapsed and even after the period of time elapses, they have to contact Gamstop themselves to have the restrictions removed. This is because the restrictions do not automatically expire after the time has elapsed period
This Gamstop system is very airtight and applies to many casinos and gambling sites within the United Kingdom. Those who wish to access such services after signing up with Gamstop have to either make use of casinos that are not registered with the Gamstop scheme or must use nonukcasinos.com websites.
Residents of Britain and Northern Ireland are advised to conduct their research thoroughly before signing up for the Gamstop scheme as once they sign up, their restrictions cannot be lifted until the expired time.
That is what Gamstop is and how it works to fight gambling addiction across the U.K.
