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Online gambling has been on a steady rise since this sector’s inception. However, the ongoing pandemic caused British gambling operators to shore up and expand their internet offerings in the past two years. It also inadvertently led to the rise of non GamStop casinos. While most of the UK’s population got stuck at home and the world was doing its best to manage the global health crisis, multiple non-for-profit organizations raised concerns regarding problem gambling rates potentially rising in Britain as the pandemic unfolded.
In March 2020 alone, interest in online poker and virtual sports betting increased 53% and 88%, respectively. In 2021, many of the fears expressed in early-2020 projections got proven accurate. According to the UKGC, the online gambling participation rate in June 2021 was 25%, an increase of 3% from the previous year. Being aware that this was a likelihood, the UK Gambling Commission passed new restrictions whose goal was to make the online slot experience less addictive, making UK-based sites, also known as GamStop ones, less appealing. That increased interest in gaming platforms from foreign countries or casinos not using GamStop. Below, we analyze these sites, listing their primary positive and negative aspects.
GamStop’s Cooperation with the UKGC
GamStop is a self-exclusion database run by the non-for-profit organization – The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited. It went online in March 2020, tying in all UK-based online casinos after years of dwelling in limbo.
The UKGC is Britain’s gambling regulator on both sides of the industry. Land-based and digital. It got birthed in 2007 via the Gambling Act of 2005. The UKGC’s job is to monitor all betting activity (except for spread wagering) on British soil and to take care of the country’s gamblers. Naturally, one of the ways it does so is by stopping them from overindulging in this pastime. It removes the opportunity for players to begin incurring massive financial losses and emotional stress through this hobby. Thus, GamStop is a tool of the UKGC to stop players from continuously feeding their compulsion towards this pastime.
Aside from GamStop, the UKGC keeps players’ impulses in check by implementing mandatory wait times between slot spins, recently lowering max bet limits, and removing debt accumulation payment methods from cashier tabs.
What Are Casinos Not on GamStop Precisely
Foreign sites that accept UK players but do not have to check GameStop’s database to see if these users have an activated self-exclusion ban get labeled as casinos not using GameStop. Sites like non-gamstop-casinos.com offer platforms licensed by regulators from countries like Panama, Curacao, Costa Rica, and Malta have nothing to do with the UKGC. They are businesses that have attained permission to operate globally by entities created by those countries’ governments. Hence, many UK players refer to the sites these organizations vet as casinos not on GamStop. Essentially, a casino not on GamStop is any gaming platform that accepts UK players but does not have the UKGC’s approval to let Brits gamble online.
The benefits of these platforms are that they do not feature any gameplay restrictions, allow niche transaction options, and offer far more enticing bonuses, including perk-rich loyalty programs. Nevertheless, despite these positives, they should never get visited by people with impulse control problems who see them as a method to circumvent the GamStop self-exclusion scheme, despite having an active self-exclusion ban on a UKGC site.
Is it Legal to Gamble at Casinos Not Using GamStop?
Brits curious about enjoying a non GameStop casino today should not fear the legal ramification of this action. There is no history of British authorities ever going after anyone playing online slot games at a casino not using GameStop. In such a scenario, the burden of legal liability rests with the gambling operator. The one that has made this a possibility faces the blunt force of the law, not the player taking advantage of it. UK law states that the country’s residents should only sign-up and gamble at UKGC-regulated sites. However, foreign ones still choose to accept Brits and freely advertise to residents of this market via Google and social media. Therefore, they are the ones that should adhere to the letter of the law when it comes to residents of what regions they can offer their gambling services, to whom they allow to create an account on their sites.
Again, non GamStop Casinos should only get utilized by those that can keep a level head when betting online. They are not a way for those suffering from a gambling addiction to bypass GamStop’s restrictions and keep playing when they know they are risking their financial and emotional well-being.
Testing Non GamStop Casinos
It is vital to grasp that no category of casino gambling platform reigns supreme over all others. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks. It is up to individual players to weigh all of these and conclude what gaming platform best suits their taste. In what follows, we break down the pros and cons of non GamStop casinos.
Pros of Using Non GamStop Casinos
The main positive aspects of casinos not using GamStop are:
- Access to games unavailable to the UK market.
- Access to niche payment options.
- Perk-rich loyalty schemes.
- No gameplay restrictions.
- Access to sportsbooks that offer varied sports markets.
Cons of Using Non GamStop Casinos
The chief negative aspects of casinos not on GamStop are:
- GBP may not always be an option.
- May get used to circumvent an activated self-exclusion ban.
- T&C’s different than those of UK-based sites.
- No authorized third-party resolution agencies.
- UK market games may not be available.
GamStop Platforms vs. Non GamStop Casinos
There is no clear winner in the battle between UKGC sites and non GamStop casinos. The latter trades in player security for a far more diverse gambling experience. Of course, that may not be everyone’s cup of tea, as some prefer to have limited gaming fun on account of feeling safe. It is all a matter of personal preference. Since casinos not using GamStop incorporate similar safety measures as those operating under the umbrella of the UKGC, many casual players are more than happy to pass up on a few extra security measures that UK gambling sites implement. They do so to enjoy a more liberating betting experience at operators with a base of operations in a foreign country.
To Wrap Up
Casinos not on GamStop only slightly differed from UK ones until recently. The UKGC’s continuous involvement in stopping gambling addiction in Britain caused it to bring forward new operator criteria in early-2020 and 2021 that make online gambling more restrictive. That caused non GamStop casinos to stick out as alternatives that offer more freedom concerning gambling activities over the internet. More UK gamblers than ever are now gravitating towards these platforms taking advantage of their bonuses and vast game selections. So, interested parties should look at them today and evaluate if these online casinos tickle their fancy or discover if they are better off sticking to UKGC ones.
