The latest data released by UK self-exclusion organization GAMSTOP reveal a 9.5% year-on-year increase in new registrations for 2023.
According to the data, over 92,000 vulnerable people signed up with GAMSTOP during 2023. This marks a new yearly record for the gambling self-exclusion program. This brings the total number of people now signed up to over 433,000.
There has been a 31% year-on-year increase in the number of 16 to 24-year-olds signing up to GAMSTOP during the second half of the year. This accounted for 21% of all new registrations, an increase from 17% in the same period in 2022.
55% of those who registered opted for a five-year exclusion from gambling with the remaining 45% opting for between six months and a year.
Gamstop chief executive Fiona Palmer said:
“We are continuing to see a year-on-year increase in the number of registrants, which shows the importance of self-exclusion for anyone struggling with their gambling, alongside other blocking tools and support.
We want to continue raising awareness of GAMSTOP to anyone who might benefit from self-exclusion and to the friends and families of anyone affected by gambling.
The prevalence of young adults among GAMSTOP’s registrants shows the importance of educating younger consumers and we will continue our outreach to this age group in 2024, working collaboratively with like-minded organizations and harnessing the support of our football club partners”.
2023 University Tour
During late 2022, GAMSTOP announced that it had partnered with The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) and RecoverMe, a gambling addiction self help app, on a tour of UK universities.
‘The Gambling Support University Tour’ saw the three organizations visit universities across the UK in a bid to raise awareness of the dangers of problem gambling and to let students know of the resources that are available to them. All three held talks with interested students explaining how their services work and answered questions about problem gambling. The tour coincided with the increased sign-ups among 16-24 year-olds although GAMSTOP has no official data linking the spike with the success of the tour.
The United kingdom has an estimated 29 Million active gamblers according to recent studies.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.