Gamban and BetBlocker are apps that stop the device they're installed on from opening gambling websites and apps. They don't close, freeze or exclude any gambling account you hold: that's what self-exclusion with the casino, or a national scheme such as GAMSTOP in Britain, does. Gamban is a paid subscription with a 7-day free trial; BetBlocker is free and run by a non-profit. Our guides hub covers the account-side tools.011112
We read both vendors' websites and help pages, GamCare's page on blocking software and GAMSTOP's own description of its scheme on 10 November 2026. On the same day we opened the responsible-gambling and self-exclusion pages of the casinos we track to see which blockers, if any, they point you to. We didn't install or test either app, so what follows is what each vendor says about its product, with the date we read it.01111412
Gamban and BetBlocker side by side
The two tools do the same job and differ in who runs them, what they cost and how much you can adjust them:010304050607081011
Feature | Gamban | BetBlocker |
|---|---|---|
Who runs it | Gamban Ltd, a company; it says it has been running "Since 2015" | BetBlocker, "a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization registered in Delaware"; founded in 2017 by the dispute-resolution service ThePOGG, a separate charity since 2019 |
Price | £4.99 billed monthly or £29.99 billed annually, after a 7-day free trial (UK-English site) | Free: "Absolutely nothing. Ever." Funded by donations from gambling-industry businesses, it says |
Devices | Windows, Mac, Android and iOS; up to 15 devices on one account; no smart TVs yet | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Fire OS and AppGallery; no limit on installs |
What you choose | Nothing: the categories "are blocked automatically and cannot be customised" | How long, from 1 day to 5 years, or a calendar of set times; on its Windows, Apple and Linux apps you can add your own sites, in the local version of the block |
When it ends | When the trial or subscription ends; Gamban "will stop working" at the end of the trial | Blocks of 1 day to 1 month end by themselves; blocks of 2 months or more continue until you ask to end them, then stay on for a one-week "Cooling Off Period" |
What it asks for | An account; "we do not require a credit check or an ID verification" | Nothing: "No personal information is collected about our users" |
Each vendor also publishes its own scale. Gamban's About page says "Over 55,000 Active Users" and "Over 190,000 Blocked Websites"; BetBlocker's home page says "149.9k + Active Users" and "over 1,409,100 gambling websites blocked". The two count in their own ways, so the numbers don't compare directly.0411
Both are built to be hard to undo while they run. BetBlocker says a restriction "cannot be lifted before the end of the selected restriction period" and that its support team can't help end one early. Gamban describes "making Gamban as difficult to remove as possible" as part of the friction it adds.1102
What the blockers cover, and what they leave open
Gamban lists what it blocks: sports betting, casinos, slots, poker, bingo, table games, lotteries, social casinos, esports gambling, prediction markets, gambling affiliates and skins gambling. It also blocks trading platforms, cryptocurrency platforms and NFTs, which it says "can trigger similar patterns of behaviour". That matters if you keep money at a crypto exchange or a crypto casino: Gamban's help page says "If you hold funds or assets in any affected accounts, we recommend withdrawing them before installing Gamban."05
It doesn't block gambling adverts, sports information sites, investment websites offering long-term products, loot boxes or adult content, and it says new sites "appear every day and occasionally some may be missed". BetBlocker says it tries "to cover all gambling operator sites with or without a license" and takes suggestions for missed sites through its website.0511
A blocker works on the device it's installed on, not on your gambling accounts. Gamban says it can't yet protect a smart TV, and GamCare suggests the built-in parental blocker on an iPhone or iPad as another option, set up by someone else "so you don't know the password".1014
Blockers, GAMSTOP and a casino's own self-exclusion
Each tool closes a different door:121314
A blocker is designed to stop your device opening gambling sites and apps, wherever those sites are licensed.
GAMSTOP: with Gamstop Online "you'll be blocked from accessing gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain", from 6 months up to 5 years. Betting shops have a separate scheme, Gamstop Betting Shops.
A casino's self-exclusion closes your account with that one operator, on its own terms. Our guide to self-exclusion, cooling-off and account closure compares what three crypto casinos' policies say.
A bank gambling block stops card payments to gambling businesses. GAMSTOP says most UK banks offer one; GamCare says most bank and building society accounts can now block gambling transactions.
BetBlocker makes the case for using them together: national self-exclusion schemes "only extend as far as gambling sites that are licensed in that country". GAMSTOP says Gamstop Online is "especially powerful when it's combined with other services" and lists blocking software among them, and GamCare says blocking software is "a great start, but a combination of practical tools and support can often be the key to making a lasting difference."111214
What the casinos we track point you to
BullsRank holds a self-exclusion or responsible-gambling fact for 57 of the operators it tracks (SELECT on 10 November 2026 at 09:53 UTC). For 47 of them, that fact comes from a policy page we could open again: four cards cite no page and six cite a homepage. We left out two operators on our editorial skip list, which leaves 45 pages. On 10 November we opened those 45 pages in a browser. 32 loaded with their text; 13 didn't (blocked by Cloudflare or by region, an error or empty page, or, at Bitsler, a page titled "Bitsler is closing").15162230
Of the 32 pages:151617181920212223242526272829
What the page recommends | Pages | Operators |
|---|---|---|
Gamban, BetBlocker or GamBlock by name | 4 | |
Only general parental-control software by name (Net Nanny, CyberPatrol) | 3 | Whale.io, Sportsbet.io, Sirwin |
Filtering or blocking software, or a list of internet filters, without naming a product | 7 | Bets.io, Cybet, Dexsport, Flush, Lucky Block, Rollbit, TrustDice |
GAMSTOP, no software | 1 | |
No software, filter list or scheme | 17 | Among them Chipsy, Gamdom, Rainbet and Roobet |
Gamban appears on one page, Thrill's. BetBlocker appears on two, Stake's and Thrill's.1516
Who the software is for differs from page to page. Stake's self-exclusion policy suggests filtering software if minors use your device, then lists BetBlocker, Net Nanny and GamBlock as "gambling site blocker apps" that help "as a protective measure in safeguarding yourself, or in some instances, safeguarding the risk of gambling exposure to a minor"; it "does not accept any liability in respect of any third-party software". The other three that name a gambling blocker do so under protection of minors. Thrill's policy (effective 1 January 2025) recommends "parental control tools such as BetBlocker (free) or Gamban (free trial)" to help prevent "underage access". Thunderpick encourages "all parents to use internet filters" and lists Contentwatch, GamBlock, Netnanny and CyberPatrol. Wild.io names CyberPatrol, GamBlock, Solid Oak Software and Net Nanny for parents.15161718
The same holds for the ten pages that recommend filters or software without a gambling blocker's name: nine frame it as a way to keep children away from gambling or unsuitable content. The exception is TrustDice, whose page, served to our browser in Russian, suggests installing software that blocks all gambling sites on all your devices.19202123242526272829
The vendors describe themselves differently. Gamban says installing it on a device used by someone underage without proper supervision or consent "may not align with the intended purpose of Gamban, which is to provide protection for those who voluntarily seek assistance". BetBlocker has a separate Parental Control mode, with a password, alongside its self-restriction. If you're looking for a blocker for yourself, a casino page that files Gamban under parental controls tells you little about how it works.0911
One more card names both tools. Moonbet's self-exclusion page, read on 15 August 2026, pointed players to "Gamban", "BetBlocker" and "GAMSTOP"; Cloudflare blocked our browser on 10 November, so we couldn't re-read it.30
What we couldn't check
Whether the blockers work as described. We didn't install either app. Everything above about blocking is the vendors' own description, read on 10 November 2026.
13 of the 45 casino pages. They didn't load from our browser on 10 November, so their wording isn't in the counts.
