In the year ending on December 31, 2023, a remarkable 92,000 individuals from the United Kingdom chose to sign up with Gamstop, marking a new all-time high for the program.
This surge in registrations surpassed the previous record set in 2022, which stood at 84,000.
Gamstop, a self-exclusion scheme aimed at helping people with gambling problems, offers various exclusion periods, with 55% of registrants opting for the longest available option, a five-year gambling exclusion. Other timeframes for exclusion include six months and one year.
Notably, the year’s statistics also revealed a surge in registrations among younger individuals, continuing a trend seen in the first half of the year.
In the latter half of 2023, there was a notable 31% year-on-year increase in registrations from those aged 16 to 24.
This age group constituted 21% of all new Gamstop registrations during the six months leading up to December, up from 17% in the previous year.
Since its inception in April 2018, Gamstop has witnessed a total of 433,357 consumers seeking assistance through its self-exclusion program.
Gamstop CEO Fiona Palmer emphasized the significance of these increasing numbers, highlighting the importance of self-exclusion and support tools for individuals grappling with gambling issues.
She also stressed the importance of raising awareness about Gamstop, both among those who may benefit from self-exclusion and their friends and families.
In particular, Palmer pointed out the need to reach out to the 16-24 age group, considering their rising participation in the Gamstop program.
Plans are in place to intensify outreach efforts in 2024, collaborating with like-minded organizations and football clubs to ensure that younger individuals are well-informed about the service.
However, despite the positive impact of Gamstop, it faces challenges posed by illegal operators.
Certain unlicensed gambling websites actively market themselves as not being affiliated with Gamstop, allowing registered players to continue gambling.
An organization called Yield Sec discovered thousands of Google search results related to bypassing self-exclusion measures.
By January 2024, they had identified millions of such search results with phrases like “not on Gamstop.”
Consequently, at-risk players are at risk of falling into the dangerous trap of betting with illegal operators, which lack the monitoring and support provided by tools such as Gamstop and Yield Sec.