Online gambling has increased significantly over the years, and with the amazing services on offer, more people have turned to playing online games as a hobby and sometimes even make a profit from their efforts.
Aside from the gaming services that these casinos have on offer, they also set rules in place to help individuals control the amount of money and time they spend on these platforms.
These include setting up budgets, limiting screen time, and excluding from gambling altogether, which is what we’re going to focus on today.
How Does a Self-Exclusion Scheme Work?
These programmes are very simple; individuals ask the casino or multiple casinos to exclude them from gambling for a set period of time. Once excluded, you will not be able to gamble at the venue or use their online services until the time has expired. This time frame can be set anywhere between 6 months and 5 years, or sometimes indefinitely. These schemes exist in various countries, from GameSense in Canada to GamStop in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, there are different schemes available for different types of gambling. You can use one of the following to minimize how much time you spend online gambling.
- GamStop is used for online gambling and is a free app that individuals can use to block them from setting up accounts or logging into online casino platforms.
- The BISES scheme will allow individuals to self-exclude from any land-based or licensed bingo centre.
- The SENSE scheme allows people to self-exclude from all the land-based UK casinos. For arcades and gaming centres, you can use the BACTA scheme.
- The MOSES scheme will exclude you from betting shops.
However, there are a number of betting sites not on GamStop that are based overseas and still allow players who are part of the register to sign up. This can be a great advantage for players who have regained control of their gambling and are looking to play again but haven’t yet finished their time on the register.
But, there are other methods you can use to prevent spending time and money on gambling sites. Perhaps the most effective is to use software that blocks gambling. You can download this software, and it will prevent your device from accessing online gambling platforms.
Worldwide Major Self-Exclusion Programs
Listed below are the major self-exclusion gambling programs and how many people use them:
GameSense in Canada
This program is run by British Columbia Lottery Corporation and offers self-exclusion options for people who are seeking to gain control of their gambling habits.
GamStop in United Kingdom
This programme allows participants to exclude themselves from all online gambling operators within the country. 365,000 people have chosen to exclude themselves from using gambling sites through GamStop.
Casino Exclusion in Singapore
This self-exclusion program covers both locals and foreigners visiting Singapore. This means that tourists can choose to exclude themselves from entering casinos for a specific time frame.
The amount of self-exclusions in Singapore is divided into three and the totals for the casino section are SCPRs: 27,956 and foreigners: 155,603. Singapore Pools Online Betting totals SCPRs: 4535 and foreigners: 4196 and for Jackpot Machine Rooms total SCRPs: 4670 and foreigners is 5151.
NCPG in the United States
The National Council on Problem Gambling is based in the United States and gives players self-exclusion programs like the Voluntary Exclusion Program (VEP). This allows players to prevent themselves from taking part in casino gambling activities. PlayMyWay is one example in Massachusetts, which gives individuals full control of setting their personal gambling budgets as well as getting notifications in real-time about how much money they spend. More than 1400 people have self-excluded themselves from casinos in Massachusetts using this scheme.
Spelpaus in Sweden
This program is a self-exclusion by the Swedish Gambling Authority, and enables players to exclude themselves from using the online casino platforms based in Sweden as well as all physical gambling businesses. Sweden’s gambling self-exclusion scheme has had more than 80,000 sign-ups, but like in the UK, many players instead choose to visit casinos without a Swedish licence to enjoy gaming when they’re part of the scheme.
