Gamstop surpasses 250,000 registrations

Gamstop, which surpassed the 200,000 registration milestone in April, said more than 67,000 people have registered so far this year, a figure that already exceeds the 51,000 that signed up during the whole of 2020.

March 2021 also proved to be the second-highest registration month in the history of the service, with Gamstop recording 7,047 new registrations during the month.

Of the 250,000 people that have registered with Gamstop, more than 228,000 are currently self-excluding through the service.

As of 31 March 2020, it is a requirement for all licensed online operators in Great Britain to be registered with Gamstop.

“The registration levels are higher than anticipated this year, though we cannot pinpoint one specific reason for this,” Gamstop chief executive Fiona Palmer said. 

“We have developed the scheme to make it easier to register and have worked hard on raising our profile to make sure we are more visible to those who might need us. The effects of the pandemic might also have something to do with the rise.”

The milestone comes after Gamstop published the results of an independent evaluation of its scheme during the first three months of the year. This study found that the majority of consumers said Gamstop had been helpful to their ongoing recovery.

“This was very reassuring to the Gamstop team, the wider stakeholders and hopefully anyone thinking about registering,” Palmer said. “We are fully committed to improving the Gamstop service to make it even better next year.”

Gamstop is supported by a host of financial services organisations and treatment providers including Citizens Advice, Gamcare, the Northern Gambling Clinic, Gordon Moody, Peer Aid and Betknowmore. 

A number of football clubs have also pledged their backing to the scheme, including Premier League teams Crystal Palace and Brentford.