The GamStop scheme was launched in 2018 as a way of protecting vulnerable punters from bad betting habits. It gives players a chance to exclude from hundreds of casinos in one fell swoop for a minimum of six months. Over the last 5 years, GamStop has seen over 400,000 people register for the programme, signalling another major trend in the gambling industry: non-GamStop casinos.
Thousands of punters join this self-exclusion scheme each year and take the time to reinvent their gambling habits. They adopt a healthier approach to gambling and then wish to place the odd bet for fun. Unfortunately, the scheme stops them from doing this, so they embark on a journey to find casinos that aren’t connected to GamStop.
As it happens, many exist - though a good handful are untrustworthy and illegal. This causes serious safety concerns for punters and lots of people lose money by joining bad sites and getting scammed. That’s why it’s more important than ever to identify trustworthy and safe casinos not on GamStop.
Don’t worry, we’ve worked with specialists to highlight the key things to do if you wish to find trustable operators:
Always check casino reviewsThe most critical step in locating reputable non-GamStop casinos is to check the reviews before joining. Make your life easier by finding an independent site with all casinos not on Gamstop for UK users listed. Pour through the countless reviews and pay attention to the following features:
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- Details of casino licences - A licence isn’t essential but it can make a casino more trustworthy as it’ll be regulated by a governing body.
- Online security features - Never join a casino that doesn’t have SSL or TLS encryption. The most trusted sites also have anti-virus and anti-malware features to add another layer of security.
- Game library information - Check to see what games are on offer and by which developers. An untrustworthy site is likely to have games no one has heard of from developers that don’t exist.
- Ways for players to pay - If you’re made to pay via strange banking methods, never join a casino. Look through the reviews and make a note of sites that offer secure banking options like credit cards or e-wallets.
Reviews tell you so much about casinos and help you avoid making serious mistakes. Ideally, the review will come with an overall rating for the site. This rating gives a clear indication as to whether or not you should trust a casino outside GamStop. If the reviewer gives it a 1 out of 10, then you know something is wrong and should stay away at all costs.
On the other side of things, sites with 8 or 9 out of 10 will be viewed positively. That’s when you should read deeper into the review to learn more about the site before being confident that it can be trusted.
Check with friends or online gambling forumsLet’s say you’re looking for a casino outside GamStop and find a website you’ve never heard of. It looks legit and the reviews are generally quite positive, yet you’re still a bit sceptical. What else can you do to give yourself more confidence and determine if the platform is worth your money?
Isn’t it obvious? Talk to your friends!
Speak to any friends who gamble and see if they’ve heard of the website. If you’re lucky, they’ll know the site and can confirm that it’s trustworthy. They may say that they used it multiple times and had no issues at all - perhaps they even won and withdrew some money. Of course, should they say the opposite and fire a warning your way, you know to avoid this site.
What if none of your friends have heard of the website, should you automatically assume it’s bad? Not always. The intriguing thing about casinos outside GamStop is that they appear all the time. New sites are developed by trusted brands, so there’s a high chance your friends just might not know the website exists.
Instead, join gambling forums and ask others for their opinions. This is a fine idea as you get second, third, fourth and fifth opinions on each site. It’s a simple way of getting a consensus to see if a site is respectable. When everyone on the forum agrees that it’s a good site that won’t scam you, you’ve got the confidence to join it.
You see, spotting trustworthy casinos not on GamStop is easier than you think. There are many bad sites out there, but you can look past them. The first step is finding reviews and researching the websites. See if they get good scores - if not, why? Then, ask around and see what other gamblers think. You’ll quickly get a sense of which sites to avoid and which ones to join.
