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UK GamStop registrants reach a new record high

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2023 saw an increased interest in GamStop services, with a large percentage being young adults aged 16 to 24.


Embraced by a global audience, online gambling offers numerous verticals for enthusiasts to explore and participate in.

There's also a time when some may become overwhelmed and need a hard stop from gaming entertainment.

GamStop, Britain's national self-exclusion scheme, shows a 9.5% year-on-year increase in registrants for 2023.

New record high

Over the 12 months, over 92,000 players signed up with GamStop. Setting a new record for the scheme. It went up by 8,000+ registrants from 84,000 in 2022.

GamStop has different options, including a five-year exclusion from gambling, the longest-time option accessible via the service. Of all the registrants, around 55% opted for the five-year exclusion. Other options available include a six-month or one-year period.

The figures also show that GamStop registrants reached a new monthly high in May 2023. The total sign-ups at this time came in at about 8,591.

Youngsters taking lead

The annual data posted in August showed that more young people are registering with GamStop. Again, in the second half of 2023, more young people signed up for the scheme.

In the same time period, there was a 31% year-on-year increase in registrants aged 16 to 24. They made up around 21% of the new registrants during the six months. That's a solid increase of 17% for the second half of the year.

The scheme launched in April 2018; 433,357 players have registered since then.

GamStop CEO Fiona Palmer states that they continue to see a year-on-year increase in the number of registrants, showing how important self-exclude from online gambling is for those who struggle with it. In terms of gambling tools and support, self-exclusion has become a needed add-on.

Palmer continues to say that they will go forth with raising awareness of GamStop to all who may benefit from self-exclusion or have friends and family affected by gambling. The team will continue to spread awareness of GamStop services to people in the 16-24 age group.

According to Palmer, the increased number of young adults actively choosing to use GamStop's services shows how important it is to educate younger users. As such, they will continue to reach out to this age group throughout 2024. The GamStop team will work in collaboration with other like-minded organisations and harness the support of its football club partners.

The struggle with illegal operations

One hurdle for the team is that despite the increased use of its service, it still needs to work on the challenge of illegal operators on the UK gambling market. Unlicensed sites are not integrated with GamStop and specifically market their services, which enables even registered members to continue with their gambling activities.

Yield Sec has shown that there have been thousands of Google searches on how to play and avoid self-exclusion restrictions. It showed that by January 2024, millions of search results of 'not on GamStop' or similar.

These results are troubling as many at-risk players are stepping through a trap looking at ways to place wagers on illegal and possibly harmful sites which don't include tools like Yield Sec or GamStop.

The mission for 2024 is to keep spreading awareness of GamStop's services while also finding ways to address the challenges posed by these illegal operators. And create a safer gaming experience for players online as a whole.

Published: February 23, 2024

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Article by Polly

CasinoWow Contributor

Hey guys, my name is Polina but my friends and colleagues call me Polly. I am truly passionate about online casino gaming and exploring the different online gambling experiences. I'm really into diving deep into topics and researching all the details. My aim is to gather the best information and write interesting articles for all the readers at CasinoWow.

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