Gamstop
Gamstop is the UK's national non-profit online self-exclusion scheme, enabling UK residents to voluntarily block themselves from online gambling sites and apps licensed in Great Britain, funded by regulatory requirements on licensed gambling operators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersHarrogate, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Gamstop does
Gamstop is the UK's national online self-exclusion scheme, operated by The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited, a not-for-profit private limited company headquartered in Harrogate and governed through its parent entity Gamstop Group. The platform enables UK residents to voluntarily block themselves from accessing online gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain for chosen periods of 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years (with an optional auto-renewal feature), and is extended to high street bookmakers through the acquired Gamstop Betting Shops subsidiary. Its core technology is a centralised self-exclusion register that licensed gambling operators query via integration to check whether an individual attempting to register or log in has opted out; identity verification is delivered through third-party providers TransUnion (knowledge-based authentication) and Onfido (facial recognition biometrics).
The service is provided free of charge to consumers and is funded by the UK-licensed gambling industry, with participation in Gamstop being a mandatory condition of Gambling Commission licences since 31 March 2020. Gamstop's go-to-market is primarily product-led and community-led: users self-register through the website or contact centre, with awareness driven by social media, football-club partnerships (e.g., Crystal Palace, Harrogate Town), student outreach with Ygam, and lived-experience storytelling. Distribution to operators is regulatory rather than commercial: all licensed operators must integrate with the scheme and run daily and per-login checks. Complementary support is delivered via the TalkBanStop partnership with GamCare and Gamban, alongside signposting to bank blocks, device-level blocking software, and the National Gambling Helpline.
Gamstop firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gamstop
- Legal name
- The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited
- Website
- https://gamstop.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Gamstop is the UK's national non-profit online self-exclusion scheme, enabling UK residents to voluntarily block themselves from online gambling sites and apps licensed in Great Britain, funded by regulatory requirements on licensed gambling operators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gamstop industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Gambling Self-Exclusion Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- KYC/Identity Verification & Age Verification Compliance Services (MPAEAOAF)
Keywords
Where Gamstop is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Harrogate
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Gamstop business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Not-for-profit service: Gamstop is a not-for-profit organisation. The service is free for consumers to use. Revenue is not generated from consumers but rather the scheme is funded as a regulatory requirement for gambling operators licensed in Great Britain.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free self-exclusion service available to all UK residents |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Gamstop product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gamstop (legally 'The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited') is a UK not-for-profit that operates a free national online self-exclusion scheme, blocking registered UK residents from creating or using accounts with online gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain. Users can self-exclude for 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or 5 years with auto-renewal, with identity verified via TransUnion or Onfido. The sibling service, Gamstop Betting Shops (formerly MOSES), extends self-exclusion to high-street bookmakers via a single phone registration.
Product overview
Gamstop operates as a unified self-exclusion platform for UK residents struggling with gambling addiction, consisting of Gamstop Online as the core product and Gamstop Betting Shops as a complementary service. Gamstop Online blocks users from online gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain through an operator-matching system, while Gamstop Betting Shops provides telephone-based exclusion from high street bookmakers. The service is free, requires identity verification via TransUnion or Onfido, and allows users to choose exclusion periods from 6 months up to 5 years with an auto-renewal option. Integration with the National Gambling Helpline and third-party blocking software (Gamban, Betblocker) provides additional support layers. Gamstop Group, formed in May 2023, serves as the parent company for both services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Gamstop Betting Shops: Self-exclusion scheme for high street bookmakers, formerly known as MOSES (Multi Operator Self Exclusion Scheme).
- TalkBanStop
Products and services
- Gamstop Online Free national online self-exclusion service for UK residents that blocks users from accessing online gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain. Users choose exclusion periods of 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or 5 years with auto-renewal; identity is verified via TransUnion or Onfido before the block takes effect (up to 24 hours) and all UK-licensed online operators are required to consult the register during login and registration.
- Gamstop Betting Shops Free telephone-based self-exclusion service enabling UK residents to block themselves from high street bookmakers via a single phone registration (0800 294 2060). Originally founded in 2016 as MOSES and now operating as the land-based complement to Gamstop Online under Gamstop Group.
Quantifiable outcome
- 74% satisfaction rate
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Gamstop
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Gamstop technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature3 records
Gamstop partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- YgamcoreGamstop and Ygam have partnered for five consecutive years to conduct the Annual Student Gambling Survey, gathering insights from 2,000 UK university students annually. This partnership produces research on student gambling behavior, harm levels, and awareness of support services. The collaboration also includes a five-year trend analysis covering over 10,000 students.
- GamCarecoreGamstop partnered with GamCare and Gamban in December 2020 to launch the TalkBanStop campaign, promoting a layered approach to gambling harm reduction. The campaign combines talking via the National Gambling Helpline, banning access via Gamban software, and stopping online gambling through Gamstop registration.
- GambancoreGamban is featured as part of the TalkBanStop campaign, providing free gambling blocking software for phones, tablets, and computers. Available free for UK residents as an additional layer of protection alongside Gamstop registration.
- TransUnioncoreThird-party identity verification provider used during Gamstop registration. Provides a series of questions only the registrant should know the answers to for identity verification purposes.
- OnfidocoreThird-party identity verification provider using facial recognition technology to compare user photos with official photographic ID documents. An Entrust Company.
- Football Clubs (Crystal Palace, Harrogate Town)minorFootball clubs participate in Self-Exclusion Day campaigns by sharing Gamstop assets on social media and at home games, helping raise awareness among their supporters.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Gamstop competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gamban: Free device-level gambling blocking software available to UK residents. Direct peer within the TalkBanStop layered-harm-prevention stack, addressing the same problem (blocking access to gambling) via a complementary mechanism (device blocking vs operator matching).
- GamCare: UK gambling harm support charity and TalkBanStop co-partner. Provides the National Gambling Helpline, advisory and treatment services that complement Gamstop's self-exclusion mechanism for the same UK problem-gambling population.
- BetBlocker: Free multi-device gambling blocking software, recommended alongside Gamban on Gamstop's support page. Direct peer providing alternative blocking technology for the same at-risk UK user base.
- Gordon Moody: UK charity delivering residential and online gambling addiction treatment programmes. Peer in the broader UK gambling-harm-prevention ecosystem, serving the same population of problem gamblers.
- Ygam: UK charity focused on preventing gambling-related harm among young people. Five-year research partner of Gamstop (Annual Student Gambling Survey), addressing the same youth gambling-harm segment.
- Gamblers Anonymous UK: UK fellowship providing peer support for problem gamblers, often recommended alongside Gamstop registration. Peer in the UK gambling-harm ecosystem addressing the same user population via a different modality (peer support vs digital self-exclusion).
Regional players
- National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG): US national body that operates the National Problem Gambling Helpline and supports state-level self-exclusion. Comparable mandate to Gamstop at a US level, but operates across multiple state programs rather than a single national system.
- Spelpaus (Swedish Gambling Authority self-exclusion): Sweden's national self-exclusion register operated by Spelinspektionen. Closest international analogue to Gamstop, providing mandatory single-registration self-exclusion for all Swedish-licensed operators.
- Responsible Gambling Council: Canadian independent non-profit dedicated to problem gambling prevention. Operates PlaySmart and My PlayBreak self-exclusion tools, comparable to Gamstop's prevention and self-exclusion mandate but in Canada.
Broad incumbents
- BeGambleAware: UK-wide gambling-harm information and education charity funded by the gambling industry. Operates broader harm-prevention and signposting services that incorporate Gamstop as a referral tool, making it a broad incumbent in the same UK gambling-harm space.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Gamstop social profiles
Digital presenceGamstop financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gamstop leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Gamstop subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Gamstop funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gamstop M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gamstop
What does Gamstop do?
Gamstop (legally 'The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited') is a UK not-for-profit that operates a free national online self-exclusion scheme, blocking registered UK residents from creating or using accounts with online gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain. Users can self-exclude for 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or 5 years with auto-renewal, with identity verified via TransUnion or Onfido. The sibling service, Gamstop Betting Shops (formerly MOSES), extends self-exclusion to high-street bookmakers via a single phone registration.
Is Gamstop a public or private company?
Gamstop is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Gamstop founded?
Gamstop was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Gamstop based?
Gamstop is headquartered in Harrogate, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Gamstop make money?
One revenue line is on record: not-for-profit service.
Who are Gamstop's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gamban, GamCare, BetBlocker, Gordon Moody, Ygam and Gamblers Anonymous UK. Regional players are National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), Spelpaus (Swedish Gambling Authority self-exclusion) and Responsible Gambling Council. BeGambleAware is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Gamstop have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gamstop.
What industry is Gamstop in?
Gamstop's product category is Online Gambling Self-Exclusion Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAEAOAF, KYC/Identity Verification & Age Verification Compliance Services.