GAMSTOP reports 38,000 registrations in first six months
Delayed self-exclusion scheme proves popular despite no formal launch
More than 38,000 people have registered to use the GAMSTOP self-exclusion scheme in the six months since the scheme went live in April, despite the service not yet being formally launched in the UK.
The GAMSTOP service was initially scheduled to launch in 2017 but was delayed to allow operators further time to prepare for its implementation.
GAMSTOP CEO Fiona Palmer welcomed the positive registration figures. “We are very pleased with the response to GAMSTOP so far as the initial uptake proves there is clearly a need for this scheme,” she said.
GAMSTOP provides individuals with the ability to exclude themselves from UK gambling websites via a single registration process, and provides the option to exclude for six months, one or five years. Links to treatment providers such as GamCare and the National Debt line are also provided under the scheme.
Palmer added: “We will shortly be embarking on our first phase of evaluation which will help shape future improvements and enhancements to the service going forward.”
Under social responsibility code 3.5.5 of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice all licensees “must participate in the national multi-operator self-exclusion scheme” as a condition of their licence to operate in the UK.