Number of people using BetStop’s self-exclusion register reaches almost 26,000

Launched on 21 August 2023, BetStop has seen significant uptake since its inception.

BetStop, Australia’s national self-exclusion register, has released new statistics showing the number of people who registered in June.

The report revealed that, by the end of June 2024, 25,972 individuals had registered to self-exclude from all licensed online and mobile wagering providers in Australia.

As of 30 June 2024, 21,381 people maintained active exclusions, while 4,591 had either completed their self-exclusions or cancelled their exclusions early.

Registrations by state and territory varied, with New South Wales having the highest number of registrations (8,055), followed by Victoria (7,020) and then Queensland (5,236).

Many other states and territories had significantly lower registration numbers.

The month of June saw 1,590 new individuals signing up for the register, a figure that represents a 7.3% decrease from the numbers recorded for May 2024, and a 10.7% decrease from the numbers for April 2024.

Notably, 48% of registrants were aged 30 years and under.

The Australian Government launched BetStop in August 2023 as part of a scheme to reduce problem gambling and gambling-related harm in the country.

The register, which was already a common practice in many other countries with established gambling markets, was one of the measures recommended by a national consumer protection framework.

The scheme allows players to register with BetStop for free in order to exclude themselves from operators for anywhere between three months to a lifetime.

As a point of comparison, in November 2023 the national self-exclusion register held 13,608 registrants, meaning that the number of individuals signing up to the platform has almost doubled in the past seven months.