Self-exclusion locks you out of a gambling account for a set period or for good. A cooling-off, or "break", pauses betting for a short time and then lifts by itself. Closing an account is a third thing: at Stake, for example, a closed account can be reopened by email after 24 hours. At an offshore crypto casino, what each of these blocks, and how you get your balance back, is set by its own terms and the conditions of its licence, not by a national scheme. Below is what three of them say, read on 5 October 2026, and what the national schemes in Britain and Australia do and don't cover.
If gambling is hurting you, don't put the exclusion off. If you can request a withdrawal right now without placing a bet, do it; otherwise set the exclusion anyway and ask in writing how the balance comes back. Don't place one more bet first.
What each option blocks
Option | What it does in the policies below | What to check before you rely on it |
|---|---|---|
Cooling-off or break | Pauses betting (at Stake, all account activity) for a day to three months, then the account reopens on its own | Whether you can end it early, and whether deposits and withdrawals stay open |
Product exclusion | Blocks one product only | What stays open: at Stake, a casino exclusion leaves poker and sports betting available |
Self-exclusion | Locks the account, or at Shuffle one product, for a set period or for good | The minimum period, how it ends, and how your balance comes back |
Account closure | Closes the account | Whether it can be reopened, and how soon |
If you want to stop because gambling is affecting you, say so in plain words and ask for self-exclusion, not just closure. Stake describes account closure as an option for reasons "unrelated to problem gambling", and a closed Stake account can be reopened by email after a 24-hour cooling-off.
What three crypto casinos' policies say
Cloudbet
Cloudbet's responsible gambling page offers cooling-off for 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 3 months: "your account stays open but you cannot place any bets", you can't end the period early, and the account reactivates automatically when it ends. Self-exclusion runs for 1, 3 or 5 years or for life and suspends all access to the account; you can't end it early either.
Two details are worth knowing before you choose. A temporary self-exclusion doesn't lift by itself: the account reopens only after the period ends "and you reach out to us requesting for your account to be reactivated". A lifetime exclusion is final: "This action is irreversible and cannot be undone." If you can't set the restriction yourself, Cloudbet points to live chat and support@cloudbet.com.
Stake
Stake's help centre lists five: self-exclusion, Break In Play, product exclusion, poker exclusion and account closure. Self-exclusion, on a page dated 24 August 2026, is indefinite, with "a minimum period of 6 months from the application date"; after that, reactivation is "subject to a formal return-to-play review" requested by email. Once it takes effect, "you won't be able to engage in any further activities on your account". Break In Play, dated 8 June 2026, lasts 1 day, 2 days, 1 week or 1 month, blocks account activity in the same way, and the account reopens automatically when it ends.
Product exclusion is easy to mistake for self-exclusion. It blocks casino or sportsbook only and, in Stake's words, "has no other impact on your account": deposits, withdrawals, chat and bonuses stay available. A casino exclusion still leaves Stake Poker and the sportsbook open; poker has its own exclusion, requested through live chat or email, which can't be reversed once set. If you want to stop gambling, neither of these is that.
Shuffle
Shuffle's responsible gambling policy (version 1.1, October 2024) lets you exclude yourself from casino, sports or both, for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months or permanently. Excluded from one, you can still log in but can't bet on that product; excluded from both, you can't log in. During an exclusion Shuffle says the account can't be re-enabled "for any reason", and that it will try to detect and close any new accounts you open.
The process has a second step that decides whether the exclusion sticks. A request starts a 24-hour cooldown; then Shuffle emails you to extend the exclusion from your account settings, and "if you do not extend the self-exclusion period within 24 hours of receipt of the email, your account will be unrestricted." So whatever period you chose, the exclusion ends about 48 hours after you asked unless you extend it. Watch for the email and extend from your account settings, then ask support to confirm in writing that the exclusion is in place for the period you chose. Shuffle's support also helps with making the request; don't open another account.
Make sure it was applied
Save the request and the confirmation, with the date and time zone. Then ask the casino to confirm in writing:
the exact account, domain and products covered;
when it started, how long it lasts and how it ends;
whether any step is still needed from you;
that you've been removed from gambling marketing;
how your remaining balance will be returned without reopening access to gambling.
A message like this covers it:
I want to stop gambling on [exact domain]. Please apply self-exclusion to my account and confirm its scope, start time and duration, any step still needed from me, and my removal from gambling marketing. Please also tell me how my remaining balance will be returned without reopening access to gambling.
Send it through the casino's own support channel and keep the reply. Never send passwords, wallet recovery phrases or private keys.
Getting your balance back
Access and money are separate questions, so ask about both. Shuffle's terms (version 2.0, September 2026) send anyone whose account is "closed, locked, blocked or excluded" to customer support to recover funds (§10.9), and say Shuffle "will not use a responsible gambling measure as a reason to prevent or delay a legitimate withdrawal" (§10.10). The same §10.9 keeps a right to refuse withdrawals if Shuffle suspects a breach of its terms "or if we deem it necessary to do so for other reasons". Cloudbet's page mentions withdrawing only in one place: "After reactivation, you will be able to deposit, place bets, and withdraw funds as normal"; it says nothing about the balance in a lifetime-excluded account. Stake's self-exclusion page doesn't mention the balance either. Ask when you apply the exclusion.
For a business licensed in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission says that once you have self-excluded, "the gambling business must close your account and return any money in your account to you", and remove you from its marketing databases. That is a British rule; an offshore casino's own terms decide what happens there.
If the casino asks for documents before it pays out, our verification guide covers what's normally asked and how to send it safely; if it refuses, our guide to a casino refusing to pay covers getting the decision in writing. Don't place a bet or lift an exclusion to "release" the money.
National schemes cover their own licensees only
Great Britain: GAMSTOP
GAMSTOP blocks you from signing up for or using online accounts with gambling companies licensed in Great Britain, for a period from 6 months to 5 years, with an option to renew automatically. You'll need to give personal details to confirm your identity. The Gambling Commission lists separate schemes for betting shops and other premises, so an online exclusion doesn't cover a betting shop.
Australia: BetStop
BetStop, Australia's national register, covers online and phone wagering providers licensed in Australia, for a minimum of 3 months up to a lifetime. Once you register, those providers must close your accounts and refund any credit. You must be ordinarily resident in Australia and have your identity verified. BetStop doesn't apply to online casino games or to services offered illegally in Australia, and it doesn't cover in-person betting.
Everywhere else
GAMSTOP covers only businesses licensed in Great Britain, and BetStop doesn't apply to online casino games at all. The casinos above state Curaçao licences (Cloudbet OGL/2024/328/0599, Shuffle OGL/2024/1337/0628), so neither scheme reaches them: exclude through each casino's own tool. For another country, check the regulator's or scheme's own page for what it covers. Blocking software can help alongside an exclusion, but it isn't one: it doesn't restrict your casino account.
If you can still gamble, or the marketing keeps coming
Keep the exclusion confirmation and anything that arrived or happened after it: emails, messages, log-ins, bets. Tell the casino what happened and ask it to hold the restriction in place. Don't test it with another bet, a mirror site or a new account.
For a business licensed in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission says preventing this is the business's responsibility, and sticking to the agreement is yours. You can tell the Commission if you gambled while self-excluded, and it uses that to consider regulatory action, but it says it is "unable to provide refunds for any money you have spent gambling". A failed exclusion is something to report, not a promise of getting losses back.