Self-exclusion is a way to block yourself from gambling for a fixed period. It is a safety tool, and it works best when you understand what it covers. This guide explains how the main schemes work, how to join, and what to do if a site ignores your exclusion.
If you are thinking about excluding yourself, you do not need to wait for a crisis. Many people use it to take a break. If gambling is causing you harm, speak to a support service as well. Videoslots, for example, lists GamCare, GambleAware and Gordon House (Gambling Therapy) as support groups on its responsible-gaming page. See also our safer gambling tools page.
The two kinds of self-exclusion
National or multi-operator schemes cover every operator licensed in one country. In Great Britain this is GAMSTOP.
Operator schemes cover one operator only. You ask a casino to close or block your account for a set period. Licensed operators in the schemes we cite must offer it, but it does not reach any other site.
Most players need both: the national scheme for licensed sites, plus blocking tools on their own devices for everything else.
How GAMSTOP works (Great Britain)
GAMSTOP is a free self-exclusion service. All businesses licensed to offer online and other remote gambling services to individuals in Great Britain must implement self-exclusion procedures and take all reasonable steps to refuse service to someone who has entered a self-exclusion agreement. Since 31 March 2020 all gambling operators must be part of GAMSTOP as a condition of their Gambling Commission licence (GAMSTOP Terms of Use, GAMSTOP, read 2026-10-28).
The facts that matter in practice, all from the same terms:
- Periods. The minimum exclusion periods are six months, one year, five years, or five years with auto renewal.
- No early exit. Once you complete registration, you cannot deactivate your self-exclusion until the end of your minimum exclusion period. Choose a period you can live with.
- It does not end by itself. GAMSTOP does not automatically remove your self-exclusion at the end of the period, and does not contact you to say it has expired. If you do nothing, your self-exclusion continues for up to a further seven years from the expiry date, after which it is deactivated.
- Removal needs a cooling-off. To deactivate, you contact GAMSTOP and complete its removal process. There is a minimum 24-hour cooling-off period during which the exclusion stays active.
- Auto renewal. If you pick auto renewal, a new five-year period starts when the current one ends. You can only turn it off in the last six months of a five-year period.
- New operators are included. GAMSTOP says that it will help prevent you from accessing all gambling websites, apps and services provided by participating operators, including new operators which may open in the future.
How to join: register on the GAMSTOP website. Operators can then check the register and must refuse you.
The limit GAMSTOP states itself
GAMSTOP says it can only help exclude you from the services offered by the participating gambling operators. It cannot prevent access to services run by organisations that do not take part (GAMSTOP Terms of Use, GAMSTOP). It also points to additional options such as installing gambling-blocking software on your devices (GAMSTOP home page, read 2026-10-28). Videoslots names GamBlock and BetBlocker as tools to block gambling sites.
Self-exclusion at Curaçao-licensed casinos
Under Curaçao’s rules, self-exclusion applies to one operator (across that operator’s domains and brands), not across all Curaçao-licensed sites (Responsible Gaming Policy for Licensed Operators, Curaçao Gaming Authority, p. 4). That means excluding yourself at one Curaçao casino does nothing at the next one.
What the CGA requires of its operators:
- They must offer self-exclusion of 1 year, with options of 3, 5 and 10 years and lifetime (p. 14).
- They must keep self-exclusion records for at least seven years after the exclusion ends and block known payment methods of self-excluded players (p. 14).
If you play at a Curaçao-licensed site and want a break across several, you need to contact each one. Our Curaçao Gaming Authority guide explains what that licence requires.
What two operators publish
These are published terms, not our own use.
| LeoVegas (MGA, Rest-of-World site) | Videoslots (MGA and UKGC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-exclusion length | Definite, indefinite or permanent | From 6 months up to five years; the terms list 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years or 5 years |
| How to request | In the account profile, or through support | By email or chat, or from the account’s responsible-gaming section |
| Coming back | 1-day cool-off after a definite exclusion; 7-day cool-off after an indefinite one | UK: through GAMSTOP; reopening has a phone call and a one-day cooling-off period |
| Other tools | Deposit, wagering, loss and session-time limits | Wager, deposit, loss, max-bet and time-out limits, reality check and account lock |
See the LeoVegas review and Videoslots review for the rest of the safer-gambling checks.
Where self-exclusion stops working
A scheme only works on operators that take part in it. That is why the gap between licensed and unlicensed sites matters.
The Swedish Gambling Authority asked people who last gambled outside Sweden’s licence system why they did. The most common reason was that they were or had been self-excluded via Spelpaus.se, the national scheme (Kanaliseringsgrad på den svenska spelmarknaden 2025, Spelinspektionen, 2026-06-15; our translation). Read that as a warning: a national scheme cannot reach sites outside it, and some people who have excluded themselves end up there. If you have self-excluded, the safe response is to add blocks on your devices, tell someone you trust, and contact a support service. Not to look for sites outside the scheme.
Three other gaps to know:
- One account is not every account. An operator-level exclusion closes access at that operator only, as the Curaçao rule above states.
- Registration terms. Videoslots’s terms, for example, have the player confirm at registration that they have not excluded themselves from gambling. Read the terms before you sign up anywhere.
- Time. The exclusion is only active for the period you chose, plus any extension the scheme describes (for GAMSTOP, see above).
If a site lets you back in
If a casino lets you play after you excluded yourself, stop and do the following:
- Stop playing and save evidence. Take screenshots of your exclusion confirmation email and of the account activity after it.
- Tell the operator in writing. Use email or the complaints form, give the date of your exclusion and ask it to close the account and block your payment methods. Curaçao operators must block known payment methods of self-excluded players.
- Escalate. Curaçao’s complaints policy says complaints about self-exclusion or vulnerable players must be resolved, on a best-efforts basis, within five business days (Player Complaints Policy Guidelines, Version 1.1, Curaçao Gaming Authority, section 4.1). For other regulators, follow the steps in how to complain about an online casino, where the complaint-to-ADR route for UK licences is set out.
- Tell the regulator. For a UK-licensed operator, the Gambling Commission takes complaints about gambling businesses through its contact page (Gambling Commission, how to complain, read 2026-10-28).
- Get support. A slip is not a failure. Tell someone and contact a support service.
If you are helping someone else
GAMSTOP’s home page has a section for people supporting a loved one who gambles (GAMSTOP home page, read 2026-10-28). Start there.
Content 18+. If gambling is a problem for you or someone close to you, support is available through the services named above. Self-exclusion is a tool, not a cure.