Your GAMSTOP exclusion does not end by itself. When the minimum period is over, it stays in place until you ask for removal, and if you never ask, it stays for a further seven years. To lift it, you sign in to your account, request removal by online chat or phone, and then a 24-hour cooling-off period runs.
Below is each step, and what to settle before you make the call. Checked on 15 October 2026.
GAMSTOP will not tell you it has expired
GAMSTOP says it will not contact you when your minimum exclusion period expires, so the date can pass without you noticing. To check, sign in to your GAMSTOP account and look at your exclusion. Do not contact GAMSTOP about removal before it has expired: no exclusion can be cancelled early.
How to request removal, step by step
- Sign in to your GAMSTOP account and check that your minimum period has expired.
- Request removal by online chat, or by phone on 0800 138 6518. The call is free and the line is open every day from 10am to 8pm.
- Once the removal has been processed, a 24-hour cooling-off period starts.
- After that, gambling companies may need further time to update their own records.
The 24-hour cooling-off period
The cooling-off period gives you a day to be sure. During those 24 hours you can cancel the removal request in your GAMSTOP account. If you let it run, companies may still need time to update their records, and GAMSTOP cannot guarantee that every company lifts its own block.
On five years with auto-renewal
If you chose five years with auto-renewal, a new five-year minimum starts after the five years without you contacting GAMSTOP. To stop that, turn auto-renewal off in your account within the last six months of the five years. That is the only window in which it can be switched off.
Decide your rules before you make the call
Removal takes a few steps. The first evening after it is what matters. If nothing has changed, the same habits are waiting. If you have decided in advance, the amount, the time and the person are settled before any app is open. You don't have to quit. You have to be in control.
- The amount before the app: decide how much you can spend in a week before you open any account again. A number, not a feeling.
- The time before the app: decide which days and for how long, before you log in.
- One person who knows: choose someone who gets to hear the real number.
And if you sign in and find you would rather keep the block, you can. You add a new period in your account, without registering again.
If it feels hard
The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is on 0808 8020 133. It is free and confidential, and GamCare says it is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also use live chat or WhatsApp through GamCare. If it is urgent and you cannot get through, call Samaritans on 116 123. In an emergency, call 999.