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Gamstop has revealed that in excess of 50,000 women have registered to self-exclude from all online gambling sites through the tool.

The proportion of women self-excluding through the UK independent self-exclusion tool has risen since the coronavirus pandemic struck last year. In March 2020, 26 per cent of all registrants to Gamstop were women, a number that had risen beyond 31 per cent by the end of the year.

Fiona Palmer, CEO of Gamstop, explained: “As we begin to understand the demographic make up of our register it is important to feed back to the various support agencies and work together to encourage those women who have registered with Gamstop to access the help they may need going forward. 

“50,000 female registrants is a significant number and we are pleased that they have found the Gamstop self-exclusion scheme and that it is a useful practical tool to help with their gambling issues.”

Surpassing the 50,000 mark in registrations is lauded as a significant development in demonstrating that online gambling addiction, which it says is often perceived as being a ‘male’ problem that is linked to sport, is having an increasing impact on women. 

According to national gambling support charity Gamcare, the number of women reporting gambling problems is increasing at double the rate of men, but only one per cent of women who experience gambling related harm contact the National Gambling Helpline. 

Anna Hemmings, CEO of GamCare, added: “We must get to grips with the unnecessary shame and stigma women feel around asking for help with gambling. Gambling is not just a male activity, and it can affect women in significant, potentially life-changing ways.

“Our dedicated Women’s Programme has told us that we need to remove barriers for women to access help with gambling related harm – the issues that women are facing are often hidden from support services. 

“GamCare is pleased to be able to work with Gamstop so people registering for online self-exclusion can also be swiftly connected through to specialist support and treatment services, which greatly increases the chance of sustaining a recovery from gambling harms.”