The world has experienced an incredibly difficult few years with the impacts of the COVID Pandemic and now the cost of living crisis. Whilst many business sectors and brands have had to adapt, online gambling has boomed.
One of the few pastimes that people could enjoy in the pandemic – people turned to online sports betting, poker, casinos and slot games as a viable means of entertainment.
Despite online gambling offering players a fun and enjoyable experience, with the rise of online gambling there have also been questions about how the online gambling industry is regulated as well as the tools a player can benefit from to ensure that both they and their spending stay in control.
It’s now a common practice that most of the top online sportsbooks and casinos offer their customers a variety of welfare tools such as the option to self exclude, set deposit limits or even take a break. There is also another initiative that people can use if they feel that their gambling is starting to spiral out of control – and that’s Gamstop.
Gamstop is an operation that is controlled by The National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Limited and they have the power to exclude customers from any Gamstop affiliated gambling sites for a period ranging from a few months to five years.
By opting to contact Gamstop and participate in a period of self exclusion, any casino or sportsbook that is licensed with Gamstop will see the players account suspended and also block the customer from signing up to any new online gambling sites that are protected by Gamstop.
Gamstop are seen as effective regulators as their remit can exclude customers from a whole host of sites, whereas a period of self exclusion on a players dedicated account can do very little if a player has another account elsewhere.
Gamstop has broadly been recognised as a scheme that helps out those impacted by problem gambling.
Due to the rise in online gambling there are many new casinos that don’t have a licence from Gamstop, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t safe.
Some of these casinos are based in territories not covered by Gamstop but still have tools and features for customers to contact if they feel that gambling is becoming an issue.
You may also think by not being on Gamstop the casino is less reputable – however casinos not registered with Gamstop are in most instances covered by other foreign licences and laws which make them a perfectly safe place to play.
Ultimately wherever you choose to gamble, the balance between spending money for fun or spending money due to addiction is down to you.
Whilst Gamstop casinos will most likely reduce any risks for a person wanting to stop their gambling having the access to do so, there are plenty of non Gamstop establishments that have player welfare at their heart.
We would recommend that you do your research, stay safe but most importantly have fun!
