If you need a break from gambling, or a permanent stop, these tools help you take one.
Self-exclusion means removing your own access to gambling sites so a moment of impulse cannot override a considered decision. It works in layers. The strongest protection combines a national self-exclusion register, blocking software on your devices, and operator-level exclusion at any account you already hold. This page walks through each layer.
Device-level blockers stop gambling sites from loading in the first place, across every operator, and they work regardless of whether the operator is licensed in your country. They are the most reliable line of defence against crypto sportsbooks, which usually sit outside national self-exclusion registers.
Where you live has a large impact on what is available.
Every credible operator, whether licensed in a national scheme or not, is expected to offer account-level self-exclusion or a cooling-off period. Contact the operator's support team directly and ask. Typical options are:
A word on crypto sportsbooks. Many of the operators we review are not part of a national self-exclusion register. Operator-level exclusion is still available, but the enforcement burden falls on the operator itself. That is a good reason to layer operator-level exclusion with device-level blocking software.
Most UK, Irish, and Australian retail banks now offer a gambling block on debit and credit cards. Turning it on prevents card transactions to any merchant coded as gambling and requires a cooling-off period, commonly 48 hours, before it can be turned off. Ask your bank or check your app under "card controls". This does not stop crypto transactions from your own wallet, so it is not a complete answer for crypto sportsbook users, but it is a useful additional layer.
If you self-exclude from an operator, marketing should stop with the exclusion. If it does not, you can complain to the operator's licensing regulator. In the UK that is the Gambling Commission. In Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority. In Ireland, the Gambling Regulatory Authority. Keep the marketing message as evidence.
Self-exclusion works best alongside support from a helpline or peer group. See our responsible gambling page for the full list of free confidential helplines by country. If you are unsure where to start, GamCare in the UK, Problem Gambling Ireland, the National Council on Problem Gambling in the US, and Gambling Help Online in Australia are all good starting points and will refer on where needed.