For any user of online gambling sites who feels they are spending too much time and money on gaming activities, the process of self-exclusion can be followed. Self-exclusion is defined as the process of requesting a casino or poker room operator to exclude the customer from gambling with them for a certain amount of time. This timeframe can be from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 5 years, depending on the magnitude of the problem. It is a legal requirement for a UK registered online casino or poker room to have a self-exclusion scheme. Problem gamblers can also self-exclude from multiple casinos via services like Gamstop.
It is very important whether you’re a casino gamer or poker player to control your losses and set up strict budgets for yourself. Even if you’re not among the big players who are losing enormous amounts, any losses can be devastating for players if not kept in check.
UK Casino and Poker Self-Exclusion – Various services
The onus to manage self-exclusion lies with the gambler, but reputable online poker rooms and casinos will do their best to accommodate each excluded gambler’s choice. There are two popular options to investigate when it comes to self-exclusion. Gamstop is a service offering free self-exclusion to the United Kingdom domiciled gamblers.
This service maintains an online register for which the customer signs up for. The UK licensed and regulated online gambling outlets are required to check new and existing player details against this database. Notably, Gamban is a service requiring software to be installed on the customer’s devices and monitors the user’s internet connection to block online gambling sites.
UK Casino Self-Exclusion – Trustworthy UK casinos
Gamban blocks a wide range of online gambling websites which include UK bookies, online casinos and poker rooms, and the National Lottery. Subscribing to the Gamban software requires a small annual fee (tiered) but an unfortunate downside to this service is that the most determined self-excluded gamblers could still find ways around all the blocks and restrictions.
The user might not necessarily know whether the online gambling site they are trying to avoid is a UK Gambling Commission licensee. Gamcheck maintains a database of real-time casino data which the customer can search for free to acquire information on all UK licensed and regulated casino operators.
UK Casino Self-Exclusion – Unlicensed International Gambling Sites
Should a user need to choose between Gamstop or Gamban, each service has its pros and cons. Both services are, however, good at blocking UK-based online casinos and poker rooms. Should the UK-based self-excluded gambler be faced with access to online gaming sites that are not-UK Gaming Commission regulated, other avenues then need to be explored in addition or find a non Gamstop-list from Casino-Experts to contact them.
For instance, veteran blocking software NetNanny can supplement local blocking services to also block or filter out International content. One drawback is that the software is expensive considering GamBan’s subscription fee. That said, NetNanny’s technology consists of powerful filtering tools that can block sites or site pages based on keywords or content.
UK Casino Self-Exclusion – UK sites not covered by Gamstop
The gambling industry in the United Kingdom is very strict when it comes to the regulation of online gambling. Most legitimate online casino, gaming, and poker operators will attempt to acquire licenses and be regulated and above-board. However, there will always be a rogue element that will attempt to skirt regulations and continue to operate without licenses. These sites will entice gamblers with large but restrictive bonuses and not offer the support needed for a fair gambling experience. For poker rooms and casinos not on Gamstop, additional software such as NetNanny can assist self-excluded gamblers or admins of devices to detect and filter out these operators based on the content that they offer.
UK Casino Self-Exclusion – Final thoughts
Technology-wise, the self-exclusion process can be administered by software and website services readily available to the UK online gambler. However, the onus still remains with customers to check their behavior and intent when they commence this process. Poker and other casino games are great fun, but not if taken too far. A point of departure for the exclusion process is to search the GamCheck database to identify UK casinos that are licensed by the UK Gaming Commission. This step is to be followed up by acquiring a service or software such as GamBan to block the gambling sites on their database. Finally to cater to casinos not on GamBan, a service like that of NetNanny is recommended.
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