GAMSTOP Notes a Steep Rise in Newly Registered Users

The GAMSTOP gambling self-exclusion scheme has been operating as a free service in the United Kingdom, providing players with the opportunity to get help to assess and control their gambling behavious. Through it, restrictions can be placed on being able to access gambling platforms licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. And from March 2020, the Commission dictated that all licensees should participate in the self-exclusion scheme, too.

And since the project was launched back in 2018, it has recorded over 300,000 registrations, as of July 27, 2022. The organisation has noted that a steep rise in people registering to use the service has taken place too, with a 9% year-on-year increase in comparison to 2021 being announced.

In the first six months of 2022, a total of 43, 500 people signed up to make use of the scheme, meaning that around 7,000 registrations per month took place. It stands out as being quite a surprise because GAMSTOP mentioned that it is normally the winter months which feature the highest number of registrations taking place. Yet in 2022, there have been more people who signed up for the service in the second quarter of the year than in the final quarter of last year. This marks quite the significant change in the trend.

To add to this, GAMSTOP outdid its own record for the most users taking the decision to register in a single day. That took place on July 1, when a total of 371 players went ahead and self-excluded themselves from participating in online gambling.

Figures Show Increase in Younger People Signing Up

While an increase of users signing up for the service was recorded across the board, the largest increase of 5% came from bettors aged between 16 and 24. In total, 58% of the newly-registered users for its service were below the age of 35, while around 30% of the service users identify as women. And that’s a figure which also seems to be on the increase in general, because in February, 33% of new users were women.

These figures fall in line with the quarterly survey findings released by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Problem gambling as a whole in the UK remained at 0.2% for the six months up to June 2022, the survey revealed, which took data from 4,018 participants. Problem gambling among males dropped from 0.6% to 0.3% in comparison to the same period in 2021, while in females, it remained at a figure of 0.1%.

Yet problem gambling was highest amongst the 16-24-year-old age group, standing at 0.8%. That figure marks an increase of 0.4% when compared with the same timeframe in 2021.

Despite this, the increase in take-up of the GAMSTOP services means that a growing number of people within the country are aware of the assistance that is available to them. Furthermore, it means that more people have recognised that they may have a gambling problem or be at risk and have taken steps towards combatting the issue through the self-exclusion scheme.

The figures announced by GAMSTOP were commented on by the CEO of the company, Fiona Palmer. She said that it means that gambling harm remains as a problem within the UK and that the organisation cannot be certain about the reason behind the increase in registrations.

Palmer also went on to state that she is happy that more people are aware of the service provided by GAMSTOP and that she is looking forward to the released of the consistently delayed white paper, which looks to adjust the Gambling Act 2005.

Will the White Paper Ever Come to Light?

Gamblers, self-exclusion schemes, operators and others have been patiently awaiting the release of the UK white paper, which was originally supposed to be made available at the end of last year. Unfortunately, it has gone through a series of delays for one reason or another, with the most recent postponement of its release coming in the middle of July this year. This time, the turmoil within the Conservative Party has been noted as the reason for its delay, although this has sparked understandable outrage from campaigners who have been pushing for change for a long time.

Advisors to Boris Johnson made the decision that the white paper could not be published until a new leader of the Tory party was elected to replace him in the Prime Minister role. Currently, two candidates in Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are battling it out to determine which one of them will be placed into the position of leader of the United Kingdom following Johnson’s resignation at the beginning of July.

Yet it has also been noted that different Tory party factions have had issues with the content included in the white paper. The content of such has been said to rub some people up the wrong way, and this has been one of the reasons that the paper’s release has been postponed before. Concern was also voiced earlier on in the week that some advisers who have past ties to the gambling industry, such as senior adviser David Canzini, would obstruct various potential reforms. This included the potential for affordability checks and/or mandatory levies on funding addiction services.

Ministers opted to drop an online safety bill plan on similar grounds, which led to many alleging that there is a high level of corruption at the heart of the current government. With a new leader not expected to be elected until September, the publication of the white paper will be delayed at least until this time.

Doubtless, the increase in the number of people choosing to self-exclude via GAMSTOP proves that something needs to be done in terms of those suffering from gambling problems. And while this self-exclusion scheme is one route to take, there is potentially also something that needs to be done at the core of gambling legislation. That is where the upcoming white paper needs to step up and take control.