National schemes, GAMSTOP in Great Britain, the ANJ's register in France, OASIS in Germany, the RGIAJ in Spain, work at the level of the licence: every operator the regulator covers must check the register and refuse the excluded person. One request closes them all, which is what a promise to yourself cannot do.
The exclusion cannot be undone on impulse, and that is the design rather than a flaw: the decision is taken at a calm moment and holds through the moments that are not. It is confidential, free, and does not require proving a problem to anyone.
Why it matters
Willpower fails at exactly the moment it is needed, because the urge and the decision arrive together. Self-exclusion moves the decision to a moment when it is still a choice. The responsible gambling page lists the scheme for each country this site is published in.
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