In addition to a rise in online gambling activity during the pandemic, GamStop, the national self-exclusion scheme in the UK, says it recorded a 21% increase in people trying to block themselves from gambling in February, according to The Guardian.

From the article:

The number of people who have signed up is on the verge of reaching 200,000, including 326 new registrations on 22 February, a record for a single day since the service was launched in 2018.

Gamstop said the increase in efforts to avoid gambling appeared to have followed a rise in online betting volumes during November and December.

It said this indicated that “the trend towards more online gambling may be leading to more vulnerable individuals choosing to exclude themselves from all sites”.

More people than ever may have signed up to the scheme, but Gamstop’s figures also demonstrate the difficulty that many people have in staying away from gambling.

In January 2021, 49,328 people out of a possible 177,038 attempted to gamble and were stopped from doing so by their registration with Gamstop, which allows people to shut themselves out of internet gambling for a defined period.
From GamStop chief executive, Fiona Palmer:

“With the rate of registrants continuing to rise, I would urge anybody putting self-exclusion from online gambling in place through Gamstop to also seek treatment,” the organisation’s chief executive, Fiona Palmer, said.

“Awareness around self-exclusion schemes and blocking software has been increasing throughout the last year, and its important that we continue to spread the message about what help is available to those who need it most."
Read the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/...-online-surges