An increase in Internet gambling during the coronavirus pandemic was followed by an increase in the number of players trying to prevent themselves from using online casinos and bookmakers.
Gamstop, the national self-exclusion scheme for people struggling with their gambling, saw a 21% increase in new exclusions in February, according to figures seen by the Guardian.
The number of subscribers is close to 200,000, including 326 new registrations on February 22, a record for a single day since the service’s launch in 2018.
Gamstop said the increase in efforts to avoid gambling appears to have followed an increase in the volume of online betting during November and December.
This indicates that “the trend towards more online gambling may be leading more vulnerable individuals to choose to exclude themselves from all sites”.
More people than ever may have signed up for the scheme, but Gamstop’s numbers also demonstrate the difficulty that many people have in getting away from the game.
In January 2021, 49,328 people out of 177,038 possible tried to gamble and were prevented from doing so by their registration with Gamstop, which allows people to disconnect from Internet gambling for a defined period.
The organization said that this shows that the blocking software is not a “silver bullet”.
“With the rate of registrants rising steadily, I would recommend that anyone who practices self-exclusion from online gambling through Gamstop also seek treatment,” said the organization’s chief executive, Fiona Palmer.
“Awareness of self-exclusion schemes and blocking software has increased over the past year, and it is important that we continue to spread the message about the help that is available to those who need it most.”
Matt Blanks, project manager at Peer Aid, a scheme that helps people addicted to gambling, started betting at the age of 11. He lost more than £ 700,000 and tried to commit suicide.
He said that being able to block all online operators at once saved his life. “It gives you a moment of pause, a little space to breathe, to make sure that when you have a need or impulse, you can’t make a bet at that moment,” he said. “This time for reflection can make all the difference.”
People with gambling disorders are disproportionately likely to be men, but Gamstop recorded an increasing number of women registered during confinement.
The number of women who self-excluded reached 50,000 recently, and the gender breakdown is 71% male, 29% female. People aged 18 to 34 are the most likely to use the service, representing 59% of all registrants.
The figures were released after the end of the collection of evidence for the government’s gambling review last week. According to Gamstopsaid, there has been an increase in the number of sites that post links to black market betting operations that are not subscribed to the blocking service.
Membership in the scheme is a condition for being licensed to offer gambling legally in Britain.