Self-exclusion is the strongest control available, and the one most misunderstood. It is not an account setting: it is a register that every licensed operator must check, so one registration closes every door at once, for a period you choose and cannot shorten.
What it covers
Every operator licensed in the market, online and in most jurisdictions on the high street too. Registration takes a few minutes through the national scheme, with identity details so operators can match you. Existing accounts are closed and balances returned; new accounts are refused; marketing must stop. Fourteen of the fifteen operators in our guide register with the scheme; the one that does not is marked in its review.
How long, and how it ends
- Six months, one year or five years, chosen at registration. It cannot be shortened, by anyone, for any reason.
- It does not end by itself. When the period expires the exclusion stays in force until you contact the scheme to lift it, after a cooling-off period — a deliberate design, so that expiry is not a trigger.
- Registering again after lifting it is always possible and never questioned.
What it does not cover
Unlicensed operators are not on the register and will accept you. They are also outside every consumer protection on this site, will not pay disputes and are the single most common way an exclusion is broken. Blocking software on your devices closes that gap; most schemes offer it free alongside registration.
Registering
- Choose the period. Longer than feels necessary. A period chosen in a calm moment is the one that holds.
- Register with the national scheme. Name, date of birth, address, email and the details operators will match. The responsible gambling hub links the scheme for the market this site publishes in.
- Add the bank block and the software. Two independent layers underneath the register, both free.
- Tell someone. The register handles the operators. A person handles the evenings.
