As the practice shows, in recent years, cryptocurrencies have become one of the most advanced trading tools and have been actively used in gambling. Along with greater liberalisation and superior opportunities, digital money has brought additional risks associated with responsible gambling.
GamStop is one of the main mechanisms that directly face this problem and can become an effective tool to overcome it. In this article, you can learn more not only about the GamStop program itself but also about its readiness to respond to the growing popularity of alternative gambling sites, offshore casinos, and more.
What is GamStop?
GamStop is the top self-exclusion resource for UKGC-controlled casinos. This is a handy tool that any gambler can use absolutely free of charge. To join the program, you need to go to the official website and pass a simple registration with ID verification. The program offers its users ample opportunities in terms of account blocking periods: 6 months, a year, and 5 years.
Once you have chosen your self-exclusion plan, your personal data is automatically entered into all casino databases that support this program. Therefore, it is important to ensure you have no funds left on your balance or contact the casino’s support service in advance to request a refund. Until the self-exclusion is over, you cannot reactivate your account and continue playing. At the same time, the site draws attention to the fact that users are obliged not to open other accounts and not to bypass the GamStop rules.
In a nutshell, this self-exclusion tool helps physically block access to gambling games for vulnerable users, helping to better cope with addiction. However, this is not the only advantage of the service. Also, on the official site, you can find a lot of useful links to additional resources that can help users cope with the psychological aspect of gambling addiction. In the “More Support” section, you can find options like emotional support, family practical controls, debt support, and more.
The Rise of Alternative Gambling Platforms
The gambling market does not stand still and is actively developing, which also affected the sphere of influence of GamStop. Lately, gaming sites that the UKGC does not control (and, accordingly, the GamStop) began to appear actively. First of all, this includes crypto casinos that actively use the peculiarities of decentralised currency and the lack of control by financial institutions for their own purposes.
Offshore non-GamStop casinos are blooming in this category. Among the advantages of such safes, one can note a larger selection of games, payment methods, bet sizes, and more. At the same time, casinos with no GamStop for UK players may have a lower level of protection, so choose the site carefully.
Despite the presence of internal self-exclusive mechanisms, users of such casinos should use additional responsible gambling tools.
Reasons to Use Alternative Self-Exclusion Tools
While GamStop is an effective tool, it has several features that encourage players to look for better alternatives to self-exclusion. This includes limited coverage that applies only to those casinos that are under the control of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. In the case of offshore casinos, they work using a different legal framework, which significantly complicates the spread of GamStop policies to them.
Finally, crypto casinos that often appear at early times form a separate category of gambling sites where users can play almost completely anonymously and bypass GamStop restrictions. All of the above points make vulnerable gamblers look for other protection methods, including NetNanny, GamBan, GamBlock, and others.
Conclusions
With the wave in crypto trading, it is crucial for individuals to use self-exclusion tools. Gamcare calls for crypto trading self-exclusion already, but Gamstop does not intervene yet.
GamStop is one of the first tools launched to protect vulnerable users, providing information about various types of psychological assistance for people with gambling addiction and so on. At the same time, GamStop is not a panacea, especially in the era of the development of crypto casinos and offshore gambling sites where users can bypass the service rules relatively easily.
Of course, these features are considered by GamStop developers, and shortly, we can see updated protection algorithms and new tools. However, until then, many gamblers use additional self-exclusion services and their combinations, including GamBan, GamBlock, and more.
