GamStop is an effective program to prevent gambling addictions from vulnerable players proactively. This is a perfect option that offers a range of related services, including raising awareness of the risks of addiction, links to qualified psychological services, and more. At the same time, GamStop can only be activated for casinos that have a UKGC licence.
Accordingly, the player can easily bypass GamStop if he knows about the existence of offshore casinos. As a rule, the situation develops in such a way that most vulnerable players easily find loopholes to bypass self-exclusion, even though the role of GamStop and its benefits for them could be huge. In this review, you can learn more directly about GamStop as well as potential options for coping with bypassing self-exclusion schemes.
What Makes GamStop a Popular Choice?
Here are several key advantages gamblers can take after joining the GamStop program.
- It is free of charge. Unlike many of the same self-exclusive schemes, GamStop is a free program you can join anytime.
- Supported by all casinos that are licensed in the UK.
- Provides additional resources for psychological assistance and support. For example, on the site, you can find sections that are devoted to emotional support, practical controls, debt support, and family support.
- The program is exceptionally easy to use and understand.
In addition, many additional resources on the site can raise awareness about Responsible Gambling rules for vulnerable people. This is all the key to finally breaking the vicious circle of addiction and complete control over negative behaviour.
Non-GamStop Casinos: Easiest Way to Get Around GamStop
Although the casinos that support the GamStop program are safe and reliable, there is a trend toward an increase in the number of offshore gaming sites. And there are several reasons for this. The main reason is that not all GamStop players have registered with it voluntarily, or expected self-exclusion to be impossible to stop whenever they want. Such players tend to bypass GamStop with NonStopCasino or other similar platforms. Another popular reason is that the need for complete cold-turkey self-exclusion has passed, and now GamStop users would like to get back to playing every now and then, but they still cannot.
There are other factors as well. Usually, they support a large selection of payment methods and also cryptocurrency support. Besides greater level of anonymity is a good option for those who want to hide their gambling activity online. Yet another advantage is a wider range of slots, bingo, and poker games powered by dozens of providers from all over the world. These three points are key for those who want to bypass the self-exclusion scheme. They also create the main problems related to potential risks, which are described below.
Main Risks Related to Bypassing Self-Exclusion Schemes
Bypassing self-exclusion schemes is always a problem for both individual players and casino operators. The risks of problem gambling can be (but are not limited to) the following:
- Bypassing of self-exclusion schemes affects basic Responsible Gambling measures. As a result, players are exposed to additional risk or exacerbation of gambling addiction problems.
- Often, uncontrolled gambling leads to financial consequences, including debt, bankruptcies, income instability, and more.
- Emotional and psychological problems are directly related to the previous point. However, stress and anxiety are also added here, which are sometimes difficult to overcome without qualified outside intervention.
For casinos, bypassing self-exclusion schemes affects their reputation. Operators may use multiple sanctions, which affects the casinos’ customer bases and direct incomes.
Dealing with Bypassing Self-Exclusion Schemes
In order to fix something, one must first understand how it works. In the case of GamStop, it works like this. First, a user looking for self-exclusion goes to the GamStop official website.
Next, they register an account and choose the self-exclusion period. After passing the ID verification, they get contacted by the support team for additional information. If everything is OK, the user’s data is added to the databases of all supported casinos, and within 24 hours, you become a GamStop member.
Now, even though the problem is quite complex, competent authorities have already developed solutions to fix this situation in the future. First of all, it is worth mentioning the reform of legal norms and conditions of self-exclusion programs. This includes the following:
- Closing loopholes.
- Strict enforcement of gambling protection rules by providers.
- Early recognition by independent control bodies.
- A harmonised registry that includes online and land-based gambling with verification of the identity of individuals.
It is also a must to increase the awareness of players about the risks and consequences of gambling addiction.
Conclusions
Thus, the modern realities of the gambling business show that self-exclusion schemes are not always effective enough. Using GamStop as an example, it can be noted that this is a powerful tool for actively overcoming gambling addiction.
Plus, it provides additional resources for further psychological assistance and increases overall awareness about responsible gambling rules. At the same time, it is active only towards casinos that have a UKGC licence.
Along with that, there is an increase in offshore casinos that attract players with their tempting bonuses, abundance of games, ability to hide personality, and more. To solve this problem, an integrated approach is needed. It must include changes in the normative legal framework, the introduction of systems for early recognition of potentially vulnerable players, raising awareness among gamblers, and so on.
