Gamstop Scheme: What Bugs Has It Faced?

Since its inauguration in 2018, statistics show that well over 50,000 casino citizens and bet enthusiasts have registered for the GamStop self-exclusion scheme already. This novel online scheme which was introduced in April 2018 for those in the online gambling sector, enables gambling addicts to restrict themselves from accessing certain online gambling platforms. While some others have registered for the scheme, they can be restricted from these online betting platforms for a period due to certain preferences.

Depending on which category of subscribers you fall into, there have been certain bugs and inadequacies that have been exposed since the Gamstop scheme began operation. Even with the number of merits to be enjoyed from this novel scheme, it has been glaring over the last few years that the scheme has not been completely effective.

The head of this scheme, Fiona Palmer says she is "deeply concerned" after receiving news following an investigation, that people who use the self-exclusion service could still manipulate the system to suit their personal needs. As new casinos not with Gamstop in the UK continue appearing, the additional breach in Gamstop system needs to be fixed. She acknowledged that the online service was not working well enough and the Gambling Commission also stated that it was looking to introduce rigorous and stricter ID checks in a bid to curb these bugs. 

For now, we will take each of the bugs exposed so far and examine each of them while we await measures that will be in place to fix them completely.

Changing of Personal Data Leads To Successful Gambling While Self-exclusion

Sadly, by altering a few minute details like intentionally providing the wrong spelling of a surname, one can still access a platform after having been self-excluded from such a platform. This manipulation is very easy to work out. Investigations have revealed that it is still very easy to create a fresh account and proceed to gamble, even while you have been prohibited, as long as you have altered certain personal data from your previous registration.

It was established that a bettor who had self-excluded themselves could still place their bets online by merely distorting their user data. When provided with these unpalatable discoveries, the Chief Executive of GamStop, Ms. Fiona Palmer said: "We are taking on board the feedback and we are looking to improve the scheme".

In the same vein, the Gambling Commission, which oversees and regulates proceedings in the industry, has said it will declare openly the outcome of a meeting on employing ID verification, which would curb customers betting using inaccurate data on online betting platforms.

The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) and the trader association both said they were "disappointed" with the discoveries from this survey. Yet, they felt encouraged by the results gotten from a survey of credible partakers of the online scheme.

The ABB said a self-reliant survey carried out by the GambleAware body revealed that 83% of the customers interviewed stated that the Gamstop scheme requirements had helped lessen their gambling activity. While 71% said they have not tried to access their chosen gambling sites since they signed up.

While this might be great news, this bug persists to the remaining percent of the population of gamblers, which is our source of concern. We do hope that with the new ploy to introduce stricter ID checks and other regulations, this bug can be fixed.

Marketing Emails To Excluded Members

In May 2018, five months following the unofficial launch of the Gamstop scheme, the commission notified the gambling industry trade body, and the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), of certain discrepancies in the self-exclusion system.

The commission declared that it was worried that Gamstop did not synchronize its list of enlisted customers with the mailing list used for companies’ promotional. This failing indicates that gambling addicts who signed up in a bid to fix their addiction might still be flooded with explicit marketing emails from the same sites they have been excluded from. This bug has been the error pointed out in numerous regulatory verdicts against gambling operators. Sky Bet and LeoVegas are very good instances.

This error is another issue to be dealt with by the Gamstop system so that excluded customers can be excluded without any other form of access to these excluded sites' promotional activities.

Gamstop Users Could Not Continue Playing After Self-exclusion Period

After the expiration of your self-exclusion program as a subscriber, you will discover that gambling operators still hinder you from playing in their casinos, not minding the fact that your self-exclusion duration is already confirmed to be exhausted.

This difficulty is the issue faced by most gamblers who only enlisted for the Gamstop self-exclusion scheme to hinder them from playing for only a certain time. They realize that they are thereafter restricted from playing, even after their self-exclusion program is no longer running.

This bug and the others we have mentioned in this text would pose serious problems to you as a betting lover when you enlist with the Gamstop scheme. Hence, we are optimistic about the steps the Gambling Commission and the RGA plan to take to fix these bugs.

>>> Read more: What Will Happen To Operators In Case Of Not Supporting Gamstop?