Self-Exclusion

The term “gambling-self-exclusion” or “voluntary exclusion” usually refers to a policy enacted by some governments and/or individual casinos as a way of addressing the issue of problem gambling.

In areas that have enacted gambling-self-exclusion policies, an individual who is aware that they suffer from a gambling problem can voluntarily request that their name be added to the gambling-self-exclusion list. If their application is accepted, the person in question becomes legally banned from all participating casinos within the gambling-self-exclusion coverage area. If a person who has been added to the gambling-self-exclusion list enters or attempts to enter a casino that participates in the gambling-self-exclusion program, they can be arrested and charged with trespassing.In addition, any chips, tokens, credits or other winnings in their possession at the time of arrest can be confiscated or invalidated.

Self-exclusion online 

All companies that offer gambling in licensed premises (arcades, bookmakers, bingo and casinos) must be part of a multi-operator gambling-self-exclusion scheme. This allows you to make a single request to self-exclude from all premises offering the same type of gambling (for example, betting shops) in your area, rather than the customer needing to exclude from each operator individually.

A multi-operator gambling-self-exclusion facility is being developed for online gambling companies. We hope this will be in place by spring 2018. Before this is available you can self-exclude with each of the online businesses that you gamble with. In addition you could consider blocking software which blocks access to gambling websites.

Breaking your gambling-self-exclusion agreement 

In an anonymous gambling environment there will be times when customers who have self-excluded will be able to gamble without being identified. It is the role of gambling businesses to ensure these occasions are minimised by putting reasonable arrangements in place to prevent them.  

If you have gambled whilst self-excluded you should inform the gambling business as this may help them identify any areas where their procedures could be improved. For similar reasons you may wish to let us know as it provides useful intelligence about potential shortcomings. 

In order for us to consider using the information you give us to explore whether it highlighted shortcomings with a company’s procedures we would need you to provide us with your permission to share your details with the company. You will also need to tell us:  

• When you entered into the gambling-self-exclusion agreement
• How you let company know you wanted to self-exclude
• What the company provided to confirm that the gambling-self-exclusion was in place
• The period you self-excluded for
• The dates you were able to gamble even though you believed you had a gambling-self-exclusion agreement in place
• Details of any contact you have had with the company since you gambled with them. 

We will use any information provided to consider regulatory compliance.  However, we are not a complaints handling body and we are unable to obtain a refund of any money you have spent gambling.  

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