To: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), working with the UK Gambling Commission.
Make Gambling Self-Exclusion a Right That Is Enforced, Not Just Promised
We call on the Government to strengthen gambling self-exclusion laws by allowing banks and other institutions to verify self-exclusion status with consent, introducing tougher penalties for operators that fail to enforce it, extending default exclusion periods for in-person gambling, and requiring all schemes to offer nationwide protection.
Why is this important?
As someone who has experienced gambling addiction myself and now supports a community of thousands of people affected by gambling harm, I have seen first-hand how devastating the consequences can be for individuals and their families.
Self-exclusion is often one of the most important steps someone takes towards recovery. It is a voluntary decision to give up access to gambling because they recognise they need protection. Yet the system does not always provide the protection they have asked for.
Imagine someone who has found the courage to admit they have a problem and exclude themselves from gambling. They have taken responsibility and asked for help. But they can still walk into another gambling venue, find gaps in existing schemes, or continue to access gambling services when safeguards fail.
Meanwhile, banks can see the financial consequences of gambling, sometimes long before anyone else, but cannot verify whether a customer has self-excluded through GAMSTOP, even with their consent.
We have built a system that places the responsibility for stopping gambling on the individual, without ensuring that the protections they voluntarily put in place are consistently enforced.
The consequences go far beyond gambling losses. I have seen how gambling addiction can lead to overwhelming debt, family breakdown, deteriorating mental health and, tragically, suicide.
Self-exclusion should not be a box-ticking exercise for gambling operators. It should be a reliable safeguard that follows someone wherever they might gamble, with meaningful consequences when operators fail to uphold it.
This petition is not about taking away people's freedom to gamble. It is about respecting and enforcing the decision of those who have voluntarily chosen to stop.
When someone asks to be protected from gambling, the system should honour that decision.
