GAMSTOP sees increase in self-exclusion among U-25s in H2 2024

GASMTOP, the self-exclusion program in the United Kingdom, has reported a notable increase of 31% in self-exclusion rates among individuals under the age of 25 during the second half of 2024.

GAMSTOP notes a rise in U-25 self-exclusions

The trend points out to higher participation from U-25 individuals, but also towards the fact that GAMSTOP is more widely accessible and awareness for it is growing. However, the program reports other worrying data, such as the fact that individuals in the age groups 16-24 now account for 24% or one-in-four of all new GAMSTOP registrants.

A total of 1% of the UK adult population is now part of the GAMSTOP program with some 532,484 registered as of December 31, 2024, when the last data was released. GAMSTOP has been refining its data collection in a bid to ensure that it better understands where and how gambling affects people.

For example, the program broke down registrants by region to see if certain places have a higher percentage of gambling-related issues. GAMSTOP also reported that almost half of all registrants during the second half of 2024 chose to exclude for five years, which is the longest possible period.

GAMSTOP CEO Fiona Palmer has commented on these findings and said that the increase of 31% among U-25 individuals was among the most worrying trends, she argued. According to Palmer, there ought to be consistent efforts to ensure that additional awareness and educational materials will reach these people.

Better awareness, and education are needed to help stem this trend

"There is a clear need for targeted education and support aimed at this group which is why we continue to put so much emphasis on collaborating with Ygam and Gamcare reaching out to students. We go to where they are to ensure they are aware of tools, such as self-exclusion, which can help to prevent gambling harm," Palmer urged as part of an official statement shared with the media.

Palmer similarly noted that apart from analyzing consumer trends, GAMSTOP has been looking to get a better understanding of what regions may be the most vulnerable and offer a further basis for studying how to focus efforts in the worst affected areas.

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