Outgoing Gamstop Chair says 1% of UK adults self-excluded from a gambling site

• Jenny Watson speaks of the monumental achievements of the organization
• More than 75% of people who register with Gamstop stop gambling
• Gamstop is set to continue scaling its operations

Gamstop’s Chair, Jenny Watson CBE, has been preparing for her leave from the organization, and penned a statement for the industry scheme’s annual report, which analyzed key trends in responsible play and problem gambling.

Watson is one of Gamstop’s most experienced insiders

Watson, who has served as Chair with Gamstop since 2018 and is due to step down from her position in September, spoke about the "remarkable journey" the organization embarked on all those years ago, to bring it to where it sits today – as an important part of the gambling landscape, and specifically establishing the safeguards needed by consumers to stay safe.

Watson noted that hundreds of thousands of gamblers, especially those at-risk and vulnerable to gambling-related harm, have enrolled with Gamstop to exclude themselves from licensed websites.

According to the organization, more than 560,000 people have registered with the industry scheme since its inception in 2018, finding it a powerful and reliable tool to manage their gambling behavior. The total number amounts to 1% of the UK adult population, Watson noted in the report, adding:

"We have made significant progress in our missionto safeguard people from the harms of gambling addiction, positively impacting hundreds of thousands of lives."

Going a step further, Watson argued that success is not measured just by the number of signees, but also by the transformative effect Gamstop had on the lives of many of those people.

"Over the years, we have heard from many consumers who credit GAMSTOP with helping them regain control over their lives," she added. Watson, though, believes that Gamstop is hardly just a local phenomenon, but rather established as a global world-leading technology provider with a focus on the gambling harm support sector.

Watson noted the efficiency of the program, noting that as per an audit conducted in 2024, 75% of people who registered with Gamstop have stopped gambling, with another 78% confirming that the program has met their expectations.

In the meantime, Gamstop has already started the search for a new Chair, with a job offer available on Starfish Search, a recruitment platform.

New Gamstop chair must be completely independent from the industry

The job posting specifically expects from any potential new candidates to maintain complete independence from the gambling industry, emphasizing the organization’s mission to provide support to those who need it without compromising its ethics.

"Our next chair will join us at a time of continued growth and development for GAMSTOP Group, and during a period of major change within the sector itself. Gambling already has a high profile in the UK, and the industry is frequently under the public and political spotlight," the job posting reads.

In the meantime, Gamstop is expected to be able to maintain its operations going on a scale, owing to a decision by the UK government to introduce a statutory levy on gambling operators’ gross gaming yield, which will be directed for research and harm-prevention, with Gamstop as one of the most likely beneficiaries.

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