The UK national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling GAMSTOP revealed that a record number of people registered with the service in 2022 since the official launch of the service back in 2018, with a 6% increase in new registrations during the previous year.
According to the scheme, 84,000 gamblers registered with GAMSTOP last year, bringing the total number of people who are now self-excluding from participation in online gambling services in the country to 341,365. Back in July 2022, the national self-exclusion scheme revealed that the service had reached 300,000 registered users. Several months later, in December 2022, the organisation rolled out a campaign to promote self-exclusion options for British people who felt they found it hard to control their gambling habits.
The gambling self-exclusion scheme officials revealed that 30% of the new users registered over the last six months have been women. Details provided by GAMSTOP also claim that almost half of the users registered with the scheme (48%) have chosen to exclude themselves from online gambling services in the UK for a period of five years, which is currently the longest possible time frame. In comparison, 24% of GAMSTOP users have decided to ban themselves from gambling for a year.
After their chosen self-exclusion time frame expires, people remain registered with the platform, unless they specifically request to be removed.
Most New GAMSTOP Registrations of People between 25 and 34 Years of Age
As reported by the national online gambling self-exclusion register, all age groups tended to use the scheme in 2022, with approximately 40% of the registered users typically being in the age group between 25 and 34. About 25% of the registered users were aged between 35 and 44, and less than one-fifth of players registered with GAMSTOP being between 18 and 24 years of age.
Since the GAMSTOP platform launch, the numbers of registration patterns varied, with the highest volumes usually occurring during the winter months. This trend, however, changes last year, as the highest number of registrations with the self-exclusion scheme on a single day took place on July 1st. At the time, more than 370 Brits registered with the service.
Fiona Palmer, GAMSTOP’s chief executive officer, commented on the scheme’s latest self-exclusion data, saying that analysts were unable to single out one specific factor that has contributed to the increase in the number of registrations because a combination of factors, including the current economic climate and rising living costs, has probably been responsible for the rise.
According to Ms Palmer, the 80,000 new registrations in 2022 have represented a positive trend of supporting even a larger number of people who found it hard to control their gambling and preferred to fully cut their access to such services in order to stay away from gambling.
The CEO of the national self-exclusion scheme highlighted the increasing importance of the register as a tool aimed at protecting people who face issues with their gambling so that they take a break and get professional help to deal with the problem. The increasing number of people who register with the GAMSTOP service highlighted the need for the organisation to continue raising awareness among family members and friends of people affected by gambling-related harm while at the same time keeping its partnerships with ban blocking and other support services in order to offer a comprehensive solution to deal with gambling addiction and gambling-related harm.
- Author
Olivia Cole
