About GamStop
Establishment and Mission
GamStop is a widely used self-exclusion gaming program designed to manage players’ gambling addiction. This free service allows residents of the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) to opt out of all regulated gambling websites and apps. The program was introduced in 2018 and as of March 31, 2020, was made compulsory for all online operators.
As the name suggests, this self-exclusion technique is aimed to reduce gambling problems.
GamStop registers and retains the user’s information, which is validated against the database every time a login or registration occurs. An attempt to log in or register is muted if the data matches the info saved in GamStop.
With this foundation, gamblers have the option to choose how long they want to be excluded for. The time varies from either 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years.
Easy process for those on the brink of addiction
Once the registration process is complete, those signed up would not be able to remove the exclusion until the minimum term specified has passed. This scheme is required for all online gambling enterprises licensed in the UK.
GamStop is an independent service. The foundation will stop sending marketing messages as soon as it receives news that clients have registered with them. When trying to enter the account, the blocking mechanism kicks in, and all marketing and advertising messages sent to the designated account are halted.
Gamers are also encouraged to notify GamStop of their voluntary exclusion via email, and the company will take all necessary steps.
SiGMA and GamStop
SiGMA strongly support’s GamStop’s mission towards responsible gambling and believes that approaching gambling responsibly means that we can work towards a sustainable business and a sustainable market. Players can self-exclude from all online operators in a simple and quick manner, allowing them to cease gaming entirely if they so desire.
With SiGMA’s clients, being mostly gaming operators and suppliers the brand highly encourages this initiative as with the current state of the increased presence of gambling in the market, and the high likelihood of relapse for those who are abstaining from gambling due to harm, such instruments must be at their best to assure safety.
GamStop’s initiative is certainly an ambitious project and with responsible gaming initiatives constantly growing, hot topics tabled by leading academics during SiGMA’s summit consistently put this subject under the spotlight. Expert entities informatively discuss it and give their take on various aspects brought about by gambling addiction to our audience.
