Self-exclusion and blocking tools

Four layers, four different gaps

People often ask which blocking tool is best. The more useful question is which layer each one sits in, because they fail in different places.

Used alone, each has an obvious route around it. Used together, they cover most of each other's gaps.

Operator self-exclusion

This is an agreement with one gambling business. In Great Britain, the licence conditions require operators to "have and put into effect procedures for self-exclusion and take all reasonable steps to refuse service or to otherwise prevent an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement from participating in gambling"¹.

Three obligations follow that are worth knowing about in advance.

• The operator "must close any customer accounts of an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement and return any funds held in the customer account"¹.
• Marketing must stop. Operators must "take all reasonable steps to prevent any marketing material being sent to a self-excluded customer", with removal from the relevant database "within two days of receiving the completed self-exclusion notification"¹.
• Systems must support it, including a register of excluded individuals, card number records and staff training¹.

The Commission's guidance sets an expectation of "a minimum period of six months" for a self-exclusion commitment, and notes that a customer asking to self-exclude "should be able to do so immediately and should not be required to wait"².

Self-exclusion is not a time-out

A time-out is a shorter pause with a different purpose. Licensees in Great Britain must offer one "for the following durations: 24 hours, one week, one month or such other period as the customer may reasonably request, up to a maximum of 6 weeks"³.

Time-outs are a cooling-off measure inside an ongoing relationship. Self-exclusion ends the relationship. Both, and the account limits that sit alongside them, are covered in what a reality check does.

National and multi-operator schemes

A national scheme applies one registration across every operator licensed in that jurisdiction. These schemes are jurisdiction-specific, so a scheme that exists in one country has no effect in another.

In Great Britain, GAMSTOP states that "When you register with Gamstop Online you'll be blocked from accessing gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain"⁴. Registrants choose a period "from 6 months up to 5 years", and "Once you've registered, you cannot cancel your registration during the exclusion period"⁴.

The Gambling Commission lists the free multi-operator and national schemes covering each sector there⁵.

The structural limit is the licence boundary. A scheme covers the operators inside its jurisdiction and nothing outside it, which is one reason unlicensed sites carry the risks described in recognising clone and phishing gambling sites.

Device and network blocking software

Blocking software works on the device rather than on the account. GamCare describes it as "a type of computer programme or app that stops you accessing websites or services"⁶.

GamCare names four options and the platforms each supports: BetBlocker, for Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android and Fire OS; Gamblock, for Windows computers and Android phones; Gamban, for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android; and Netnanny, parental control software for Windows, iOS and Android⁶.

Gamban describes itself as providing gambling blocking alongside tools that track "how long you've remained gamble free and how much time and money you've saved", across all major device platforms⁷.

The gap is obvious once stated: software installed on a laptop does nothing about a phone, a work machine, a tablet or someone else's device. Install it on everything, or the layer is decorative.

GamCare is also careful about how much weight to place on it: "Blocking software is a great start, but a combination of practical tools and support can often be the key to making a lasting difference"⁶.

Bank and card gambling blocks

The fourth layer sits on the money rather than the account or the device.

GamCare describes bank gambling blocks as "free tools offered by most UK banks to help get your gambling under control", which "work by blocking transactions that are categorised as gambling"⁸. The categorisation is the merchant category code attached to the payment, so if a transaction still goes through it may indicate the business is "using an incorrect Merchant Category Code (MCC)"⁸.

The useful feature is the delay on switching it off. GamCare lists cooling-off periods before gambling transactions resume: 48 hours at Chase, Halifax, Lloyds, Revolut, Royal Bank, Santander, Starling, TSB and Ulster; 72 hours at Barclays, Danske, First Direct, HSBC, Nationwide and PayPal; and options from two days to one year at Monzo⁸.

That delay is the point of the tool. It converts an impulse into a decision with a waiting period attached.

Its limits are also documented. Blocks may fail where a merchant misclassifies a transaction, do not catch gambling bought alongside other goods such as a lottery ticket in a supermarket, and do not cover other payment routes⁸. They do not affect a credit score⁸.

What each layer does not cover

• Operator self-exclusion covers one business. Any other account remains open.
• A national scheme covers licensed operators in that jurisdiction only. It does not cover land-based venues unless a separate scheme applies, and it does not cover operators outside the licence boundary⁴.
• Blocking software covers the devices it is installed on⁶.
• A bank block covers transactions coded as gambling on that account and card⁸.

Two further gaps are worth naming. A joint account or a second account at another bank sidesteps a card block, and a shared device belonging to someone else sidesteps blocking software.

Using them together

The layers are cumulative, and setting them up takes roughly an evening.

1. Self-exclude from every operator account you hold, and let each one close the account and return your balance¹.
2. Register with the national scheme in your jurisdiction, choosing a period you will not want to argue with later⁴.
3. Install blocking software on every device you use, not just the main one⁶.
4. Turn on the gambling block with your bank, and check the cooling-off period so you know what removing it involves⁸.
5. Arrange support alongside the blocks rather than instead of them⁶.

If you are unsure whether any of this applies to you, signs of gambling harm sets out the signs and the screening tools used to assess them. General information about tools and free support is on our responsible gambling page.