The GamStop’s Popularity in the Cricket Community
Throughout India, Australia, and many parts of the UK, cricket has held onto its place as a top sport in the eyes of sports fans and online sports bettors. It’s no small consideration that many of the top cricket teams in the world come from these areas and have a deep tradition of fine cricket play that dates back many decades.
In the UK, cricket betting only takes a backseat to European football (soccer) and maybe rugby. That translates to a lot of UK sports bettors counting themselves as part of the cricket community.
With so many UK sports bettors betting on cricket matches, there is always a need for them to protect themselves from going overboard with their online cricket betting activities. How do UK cricket bettors protect themselves from gambling problems?
The GamStop Solution
UK online sports bettors, including cricket bettors, have the unique advantage of having access to one of the top self-exclusion programs in the world. The GamStop self-Exclusion Program has become a very important part of the UK online gambling community over the last few years. In fact, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) now mandates that all licensed UK online gambling sites become members of the GamStop scheme as part of the UK’s responsible gambling initiative.
Here is some information on how GamStop works for online gamblers.
If a UK online gambler senses that they may be falling victim to an online sports or casino gambling problem, they can seek help from GamStop. The GamStop registration page is usually available via a link that is provided by licensed UK online gambling sites.
After clicking on the link, UK online gamblers can register with GamStop for free. The key information they will need to provide during the registration process includes:
- Legal name
- Legal address or residence (must be in the UK)
- All email addresses used for online gambling activities
- Home and cell phone numbers
- Age and date of birth
After completing the registration process and the application is processed, registered gamblers will no longer be allowed to access any of their UK online gambling accounts. They will also be restricted from opening new accounts based on the information (see above) they provided when registering.
Since involvement with the GamStop scheme is voluntary, it’s the gamblers who get to choose how long they want to be excluded from accessing UK online gambling sites. The choices are 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years. After a registered GamStop gambler’s self-exclusion period ends, they will be permitted to resume using existing or new online gambling accounts.
How Cricket Fans Can Get Around GamStop
The GamStop scheme works very well for cricket sports bettors who are committed to taking a break from their online gambling activities. However, there are plenty of times that a self-excluded cricket sports bettor will change their mind and want to resume their cricket match betting activities.
If a cricket sports bettor really wants to get around the GamStop scheme, they do have several ways to do exactly that. The list of GamStop avoidance options includes:
- Agreeing to use cryptocurrency to fund all gambling transactions (cryptos provide anonymity through blockchain transactions)
- Registering with offshore online bookmakers, using a VPN
- Restricting sports betting activities to retail UK bookmakers
- Opening new accounts with a partner under the partner’s identity
- Aligning themselves with UK online gambling operators not on GamStop
The last option should be of particular interest to any UK online gambler who wants to keep their online gambling activities local. They can do that by simply locating UK online sports-books that have made the choice to not subscribe to the GamStop scheme. Information on these sites can be found at NonGamStopOdds.com.
It’s worth noting that many of these non-GamStop operators might be in violation of the UKGC’s laws. However, it’s fair to say that many of these operators are quite safe and secure. They have simply made the choice to avoid GamStop because of financial considers or on principal.
If you fancy yourself an avid cricket bettor, you have the right to wager on cricket matches whenever you want. At the same time, you also have the right to seek help if you sense a gambling addiction is coming your way. The cricket betting community says yes to GamStop as a reliable option when it comes to protecting oneself from problems associated with too much betting on cricket matches or any other sport.
