In the UK, the Gamstop service, which offers today’s gamblers a system of self-exclusion from virtual casinos, has recently been experiencing increasing dissatisfaction from local players. It is the creation of this service that pushes British gambling enthusiasts to visit online casinos not on gamstop, where there are no restrictions on gameplay. Such gaming portals exist in the UK itself, but they do not have a license from the UKGC (British Gambling Commission). Therefore, these resources are licensed by other countries, which is not forbidden by the UK legislation.
What is the Gamstop service?
A few years ago, there was an acute issue in the British Isles regarding the country’s gambling problems. According to research by YouGov, just over 2.5% of British adults at the time had a serious gambling problem. This led the UKGC to decide to create a service that would help reduce the incidence of ludomania in the UK.
So the GAMSTOP system that was created is the UK’s national programme of so-called self-exclusion from gaming services. Thanks to this tool, which has proved very effective, it is now possible to “cut off” access to gambling sites for a whole category of players in the British Isles.
Customers who register with the system are blocked from accessing most online casinos operating in the UK. The service allows customers to exclude themselves from gambling at their own will for up to 5 years.
How does Gamstop work?
Gamstop logs and stores personal details for each user, and each time they attempt to log in or register they are checked against the service database. If the data matches the information stored on Gamstop, the attempt to log on or register will be terminated.
Registering a user with the Gamstop service enables the system:
- freeze his account on game resources;
- restore his account balance;
- exclude him from receiving any marketing or promotional materials.
How does Gamstop work in different countries?
The problem of gaming addiction is severe in all countries where online gambling has been legalized. That is why a number of European countries are also thinking seriously about a system of self-exclusion of players from gaming services.
Malta was one of the first countries to take up the fight against gambling addiction, where a new online gambling legislation was drafted before a mechanism to exclude gamblers from gambling services was developed. The local regulator also acted as a liaison between the gambling industry and the affected players. Now, following the introduction of the new law, a gambler who has been blacklisted by one operator is automatically not allowed to enter other licensed online casinos in the country.
In Italy, back in spring 2018, the local regulator introduced its self-exclusion programme for gamblers. Under it, Italian players have the option to voluntarily give up gambling for any length of time. Information about this is recorded in a general registry of general gambling portals, whereby all accounts are automatically blocked on all gambling resources in the country.
What’s more good or bad from Gamstop service?
It’s clear that Gamstop system is not perfect. It has its good and bad sides.
Speaking about its merits, first of all, it should be noted that Gamstop is the only effective way to fight a gambling addiction if you have serious problems with it.
On the other hand, the service also has significant disadvantages, chief among which should be considered:
- introduction of significant limits on bets.
- decrease the attractiveness of the bonus programs on offer .
- introducing monthly limits;
- possible reduction in the amount of winnings.
Many players in the British Isles did not like the introduction of the service because it was considered to be a restriction of democratic freedoms. This has sparked an interest in online casinos that are not on Gamstop. So the service has some very serious detractors demanding that it be shut down.
How do I bypass Gamstop?
This is not a difficult problem to solve. All you have to do is to choose an online casino that is not connected to Gamstop and continue to play without any restrictions. The more so, it is allowed by the UK law to operate in the country with licenses issued by regulators of other states.
https://www.nongamstopsites.co.uk is among such gambling establishments, where UK gamblers can play without any restrictions
The introduction of Gamstop service in the UK has not been well received by everyone in the country as there are entire categories of citizens who are against any kind of restrictions on online gambling.
So, today, all the disgruntled can play for fun without any restrictions on non-Gamstop gaming portals without any problems.