Getting Around GamStop
It does not work in the way the phrase suggests, and it is not a good idea. A GamStop entry is held by the scheme and matched by UK-licensed operators; there is nothing on a casino to “get around”. What people mean by bypassing is gambling at sites outside the scheme, which does not remove the exclusion — it simply takes the gambling somewhere the barrier does not reach.
This page explains why bypassing an exclusion is a bad trade. It does not tell anyone how to do it. If you are on the register and struggling, the support services at the bottom of this page answer today, for free.
What “bypassing” would have to mean
For a bypass to exist, there would have to be a mechanism that could be circumvented. The GamStop entry is not such a mechanism. It is a record held by one organisation, checked by operators against the details you gave them. There is no device to disable, no setting to change and no filter to route around.
So the phrase is doing something else. It is describing a decision to gamble at a site that does not check the register. That is not a technical workaround; it is a choice to leave the system that was built to help you.
Why the offshore market is not a bypass
Casinos licensed outside Great Britain are outside GamStop by definition, because the scheme runs on UK licence conditions. That is a fact about licensing, not an invitation. Using one during an exclusion does not lift the entry, does not shorten it and does not change anything about the record.
It also strips away the protections the exclusion was meant to provide. There is no statutory complaint route, no enforced deposit limit across operators, and no ombudsman. The safety guide sets out what an offshore permit does and does not give you; the short version is that it gives you less.
What is actually being traded
An exclusion is a decision made in a clear moment to protect a less clear one. The reason people register is usually that gambling had stopped being something they controlled. Bypassing does not restore control; it removes the only external structure that was holding the line.
That is the argument, and it is not a moral one. It is practical: the barrier exists because it was needed. Working around it returns you to the position you were in when you decided to register, with less protection than before.
What does help
- Talk to someone. GamCare’s helpline and live chat are free and confidential, and they are staffed by people who have heard this before.
- Use the tools that exist. Bank blocking, gambling-blocking software and operator-level deposit limits all work alongside an exclusion.
- Ask GamStop about the period. If the entry is longer than you can manage, that is a conversation for the scheme, not for a search engine.
- Tell a person you trust. It is unglamorous and it works more often than any technical measure.
If you are here for someone else
The same applies. A person who is excluded and looking for a way round it is usually not looking for information; they are looking for permission. The useful response is support, not a list of sites. GamCare can advise family members too.
The pages on removing an exclusion and on the official route cover what the scheme can actually do, and the support page lists the organisations that answer quickly.