How To Block Gambling Sites in the UK

The ever-growing scourge of gambling addiction has troubled many people in the United Kingdom. It has also been under the authorities’ microscope in an attempt to provide a permanent solution. More than 1.4 million people in Great Britain, or a 2.7% percentage, have a gambling problem. Also, after a House of Lords report was published, it was revealed that half of the adults in the country gamble at least once a month, while 3.1% risk more than they can afford. For that reason, since 2000, when GamBlock was launched, there have been many attempts to create applications that will block gambling sites.

Nowadays, there are so many gambling blockers out there, so the question is, which one should you try? We suggest following the next steps. Firstly, you should proceed with a self-assessment test. According to the results, you should choose the appropriate blocker or scheme. If you just need advice on keeping gambling on a fun and recreational level, you should probably register an account with GamCare. If you need to control and prevent yourself from accessing betting sites, you may choose the blocker suiting you the most. Read the following guide and learn what each blocker offers, the cost, along with valuable information regarding its usability.

Top ways to block gambling sites

Players have eight different ways to succeed in the quest on how to block gambling sites, both  the UK and the Non Gamstop Betting sites. The most popular ones are the self-exclusion schemes like GamStop, banking tools for gambling transactions restrictions and gambling site blocking apps. BetBlocker, GamCare and the GamStop self-exclusion scheme, along with the bank gambling features, are the free-of-charge ways to get to your goal. On the other hand, blocking apps like Gamban, GamBlock, BetFilter and NetNanny, come with a cost. Let’s see in detail what both the free and paid apps offer the punters.

Best methods to block gambling sites for free in the UK

Μany punters in the United Kingdom have found out that they can’t do much to control betting urges, so they depend on gambling blockers to stop slumping. According to the players’ status, the latter may check four free solutions. Some of them are more lenient, like GamCare, which has a more advisory role as an organization. Others will contribute to avoid depositing to operators, while BetBlocker will block access to gambling sites. The most radical one, GamStop, will exclude you from all the UK betting operators.

GamStop Scheme

If you have been searching for the strictest exclusion scheme in the United Kingdom, here it is. By registering a new account with GamStop, you will be excluded from all gambling sites for one, three or five years. This solution is addressed to the punters who can’t control themselves. The most significant disadvantage of the scheme is that it applies only to UK bookmakers and not to the  Non UK betting sites.

Bank Gambling Blockers

By using the gambling blockers offered by the UK banks, you will still have the chance to enter the gambling sites. However, you won’t be able to deposit money using your debit cards or your bank account, thanks to the “Freeze Card” and “Card Locking’ features. It is a good solution but not the most effective since every betting site offers more payment methods than bank transfer or debit cards. The above-mentioned methods will also help your credit score to not be affected.

GamCare

GamCare was created to advise the punters on how to treat a gambling problem and keep betting activity on a recreational level. It doesn’t offer a dedicated free gambling blocker, but it is affiliated with every other application. That means that you will find direct links for every gambling blocker, where you can download the respective app.

BetBlocker App

If you have been looking for a free solution letting you block gambling sites for free without proceeding to a self-exclusion on every bookmaker separately, then BetBlocker is for you. The app was created back in 2017 and gives players the chance to block more than 13.000 gambling sites from mobile and desktop devices. You can stop yourself from entering betting sites from 1 day up to 5 years. Alternatively, if you already use the app and wish to get rid of it, you can learn how to uninstall BetBlocker with ease.

Top paid block betting apps

If you don’t want to leave anything at the hands of lady luck, especially when the talk goes to protecting your family or even yours from gambling, you can find some paid apps that promise to block online gambling sites. The thing that separates the four following applications is mainly the cost, but you still have to choose the appropriate one for you, according to your needs.

Gamban

If you have been searching for a solid app to help you block betting sites, not only in the United Kingdom but also worldwide, Gamban is the way to go. To be precise, you can put a stop to accessing gambling operators from around the world for one month or one year, for the cost of £24.99 for a year, or £2.49 per month, for unlimited devices. Moreover, you can check out all of the app’s features for free through the 7-day trial mode. Otherwise, if you’re feeling that you don’t have any problem, you can opt for gambling sites not on Gamban.

GamBlock

GamCare and GamBlock are the oldest gambling blockers in the United Kingdom since the latter was launched in 2000. Like Gamban, it prevents punters from entering all UK-licensed betting sites and many offshore ones while its database is constantly updated. In that way, you will avoid entering many new international bookies. The cost depends on the number of devices you want to protect and the OS every tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop PC runs. However, if you’re fed up with it, you can always learn how to remove GamBlock easily.

Betfilter

Betfilter will block gambling sites licensed in the United Kingdom and offshore. Still, the significant difference against the previous solutions is that you will have to pay for a license for one or multiple devices, no matter the operating system. That means that if you want to protect five devices with a different operating system, you won’t have to buy separate Betfilter licenses with an additional cost for each one. You get the plan you need, you activate your subscription on the devices you want, and just like that, the gambling sites will be blocked. On the contrary, if you’re tired of the app, there’s always the chance to learn how to remove Betfilter.

NetNanny

This app works as an internet filtering application. NetNanny has a different approach, as it is dedicated to preventing minors from entering harmful sites. That would include gambling operators, porn sites and various applications since it offers real-time internet filtering. The fee for one device is $11 for a year, while the 5-device plan costs $55, no matter the OS or the type of your device. You can also take advantage of the 14-day trial to check out the way NetNanny works. If you’re looking though for an easy of bypassing this app, non NetNanny casinos are here for you.

The best gambling blocker for transactions

Everyone is speaking about the self-exclusion schemes like GamStop, or the gambling blockers which stop the players from entering the betting sites. But there are more ways to prevent yourself from placing bets or spending money on gambling. The solution is bank gambling blocking. The latter won’t let you use your debit card or web banking apps to top up your betting accounts. Which are the most popular bank gambling blocking features, though?

Freeze your card
This is the most common way of stopping you from depositing to betting accounts. No matter the bank you keep an account with, you can freeze your credit card for all online betting transactions.

Seventy-two hours Cool Off period
Even if you have decided to undo the freezing of your card, most of the banks give a cool-off period of 72 hours to let you rethink if you want to cancel the blocking of your card.

Freeze Gambling
This feature is very similar to “Freeze your card,” but in this case, you can still keep making online transactions. The gambling payments are the only ones blocked from your bank.

Financial Tracking
By using your web banking app and on the respective section, you can keep tracking of all your online transactions, including the ones for gambling purposes.

Card locking
This feature is offered by the Bank Of Scotland and Natwest and is almost the same as “Freeze Your Card” and “Freeze Gambling. The great difference is that the cool off period after your request to stop “card locking” for your gambling transactions, lasts 48 hours.

Can I block gambling sites on mobile?

Yes, you can block gambling sites for free in the UK both on your mobile and desktop devices, while you will also find paid solutions. Before you proceed with a gambling blocker, no matter if it is free or paid, you should first consider which your target is. For example, if you can control yourself and just don’t want betting ads to pop up on your smartphone/tablet monitor, you can get a free gambling blocker for iPhone or Android, like BetBlocker. If you want to prevent yourself from entering gambling sites completely, you should go for paid apps like BetFilter, Gamban or Gamblock. But if you just want to cool off for more than a while from betting due to a gambling addiction, the most suitable blocker for both your mobile and your desktop devices would be the Gamstop self-exclusion scheme.

Free online gambling blocker vs. paid gambling app blocker

The truth is that both free and paid gambling blockers do a job the way they are supposed to. They both block gambling sites in the United Kingdom and outside it, preventing players from entering, depositing and placing bets with them. On the one hand, you have the chance to block gambling sites for free in the UK and stop the gambling ads from popping up all the time. Those apps are funded by non-profit organizations, which is why they are free of charge.

On the other hand, the paid gambling blockers have been created by a private group that self-funded the app development. That means they have to get the investment back somehow, but at the end of the day, both types of gambling blockers won’t let you get in the gambling sites and will also stop the gambling ads from being shown. So, the big difference between the free and the paid apps is mainly the price and how much you are willing to spend to prevent yourself from entering betting sites on one or more devices.

Other ways of applying betting restrictions

Everything begins with only one question. Can you handle your betting impulses? If not, you should block betting sites through a gambling blocker or a self-exclusion scheme like GamStop. On the other hand, if you still can control yourself from gambling, but you want to impose some limits so you don’t slip away, the following two ways will help you reach your target.

Apply a betting deposit limit

The first solution to prevent yourself from going down the dark road of gambling addiction is to impose limits on your betting account or accounts. For starters, you can set a specific amount of money you may deposit daily, weekly or monthly. Secondly, you can set limits on the amount of money you can wager on each bet slip or every casino game. In that way, even if you will get in the temptation to deposit or bet more money, you won’t be able to.

Self-exclusion from every betting site

If you find out that setting limits on your deposits and your bets won’t do as much as you thought, the next step is to exclude yourself from the betting sites where you tend to spend more time and money. If your addiction keeps growing, then it might be safer to exclude yourself from every UK bookmaker, even from every Non-UK ones.