Key Moments:
- As of 2025, GamStop recorded nearly 600,000 active registrations and a 44 percent increase in under-25 registrations in the first half of 2025.
- Crypto gambling generated more than eighty-one billion dollars in gross gaming revenue in 2024.
- The UK Gambling Commission has issued 287 notices since last spring, yet crypto casinos continue to evade UK oversight.
Limits of GamStop in the Digital Era
Across Britain, self-excluded players are regaining access to gambling through crypto-only casinos that operate outside the reach of GamStop. Introduced in 2018, GamStop requires all operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to prevent self-excluded users from accessing their services. However, offshore crypto casinos, often based in jurisdictions like Curaçao, are not bound by these requirements, leaving a significant loophole for vulnerable users.
GamStop covers only UK-licensed operators, and with nearly 600,000 registered players in 2025 and a notable surge in young users, concerns are rising about the system’s limits. These platforms can still target UK traffic without formal permission and are not required to participate in GamStop, effectively bypassing responsible gambling protections.
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Risks Posed by Blockchain Anonymity
Blockchain technology has introduced new challenges for regulators and players. While UK-licensed sites demand Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, crypto-only casinos often forgo identity verification, making it easy for those who have self-excluded to create new, untraceable accounts. Players simply download a cryptocurrency wallet, generate an address, and fund their accounts pseudonymously, evading cross-referencing with exclusion registers.
Findings and Industry Research
Evidence documented by reports such as FinTelegram reveals real-world harm, with one UK player reportedly losing over £20,000 at a crypto casino after self-exclusion. Academic research has found that among 40 leading crypto-only casinos, just 60 percent offered self-exclusion tools and none required identity checks during registration. The University of Bristol identified that major platforms like Freshbet and Goldenbet lacked both self-exclusion mechanisms and ID verification at sign-up, exposing further vulnerabilities.
The market’s growth has been dramatic, with crypto gambling generating gross gaming revenue of more than eighty-one billion dollars in 2024, representing a fivefold increase over previous years. Such growth reduces the incentive for operators to introduce voluntary controls.
| Year | Crypto Gambling Gross Revenue (USD) | GamStop Registrations | Under-25 Registration Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 81,000,000,000+ | — | 31 (H2 2024) |
| 2025 (H1) | — | ~600,000 | 44 |
Regulatory and Legal Challenges
A spokesperson from Wiggin LLP commented to SiGMA News that the UKGC’s enforcement capability is limited by territorial boundaries. They noted, “The Gambling Act has territorial limitations, which means the UKGC’s direct, extra-territorial enforcement capabilities against offshore unlicensed operators are limited.
“The regulator has taken proactive steps to tackle the market through cease-and-desist notices, disruption notices, and Google takedown requests. Its work with PSPs to address the black market is bypassed by crypto operators, of course.
“Alongside these steps, we have seen the UKGC start to target the games suppliers it licenses where it considers their content to have appeared on unlicensed sites.”
The spokesperson further emphasized, “The AML framework is not a tool for stopping self-excluded players,” and highlighted the need for steps such as banning advertising for ‘Not-On-Gamstop’ casinos.
Despite issuing 287 notices since last spring, UK authorities continue to struggle with offshore operators who fall outside standard oversight and detection measures.
Social Impact and Player Vulnerability
Responsible gambling advocates have raised alarms about the growing risks for self-excluded players. Adrian Sladdin, Director at Ethical Gambling Forum, warned, “There’s a danger that many of the crypto casinos could be unregulated and therefore won’t be engaging in any messaging or association with GamStop or any of the other self-exclusion services which exist.”
Sladdin stated that the similarity between illegal and regulated gambling sites heightens relapse risk, especially when players are unaware of blocking tools. He said, “If there’s been a pent-up frustration, then removing a barrier to gambling can lead to problematic behaviour, which in turn can lead to dramatic financial losses. Clearly, these have an effect on not just the player but on the close family circle as well.”
He also noted that while tools like Gamban help against regulated sites, unregulated crypto casinos easily evade such barriers, and players often find these sites quickly through the dark web.
Blockchain IDs: A Future Solution?
Technology may eventually offer solutions, with some advocates suggesting blockchain-powered digital identities could standardize self-exclusion across platforms without sharing personal data. Trials of decentralized identity systems promise the ability to verify player status, such as age or exclusion, using zero-knowledge proofs. However, these systems have seen little adoption, especially among offshore operators, and no regulator currently mandates such technology in gambling.
Early efforts from firms like Sedicii to implement zero-knowledge proof age verification have begun, but industry-wide application remains distant, leaving immediate regulatory reform as the only practical remedy for now.
Evolving Policy and Regulatory Responses
Policymakers in the UK are under increasing pressure, with recent consultations highlighting crypto casinos as a key topic and considering additional safeguards like mandatory blocking software and stricter scrutiny of crypto payments. On 31 October 2025, the UKGC is set to implement new rules mandating deposit limits and improved transparency for regulated operators, though these don’t directly affect crypto casinos outside UK jurisdiction.
Abroad, other countries are making moves. The Netherlands, for instance, requires all operators, including those in the crypto sector, to enroll in the CRUKS exclusion scheme, and as of July 2025, it reached over one hundred thousand self-exclusions. In contrast, progress on integrating UK exclusions across offshore and crypto casinos remains slow.
Conclusion
Absent stronger measures, the rapid rise of crypto-only casinos could undermine the UK’s responsible gambling safeguards, drawing self-excluded and vulnerable players into unregulated and opaque gaming environments. Campaigners are urging urgent reforms to close this gap, warning that continued growth of the crypto gambling sector threatens the effectiveness of self-exclusion initiatives like GamStop.
- Author
Daniel Williams
