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Impulsive Gambling – How the UK & Non GamStop Casinos Deal With It

Online gambling got birthed in 1994 when Antigua and Barbuda decided to pass the Free Trade and Processing Act. However, it took two years before the world’s first online casino (InterCasino) appeared, thanks to internet payment technology developed by its operator CryptoLogic. In the 1990s and the 2000s, Americans could only enjoy online casino entertainment for real money at offshore platforms. That all changed in 2013, when the Nevada Gaming Commission granted 888 Casino a license, making it the first Interactive Gaming Service Provider active in any US jurisdiction. That same year, this brand also made its presence known in New Jersey, the top US online gambling market.
Following the global events that began to unfold in early 2020, many US states are now looking to create new tax revenues to plug budget shortfalls. One of the simplest ways to achieve this is to legalize online gambling. When it comes to sports betting, almost everyone is passing such laws, with many territories also exploring the option to make online casino gaming a reality for their residents. With this occurrence, concerns come about a potential rise in gambling addiction rates in the US. Thus, many are looking to Europe’s most established interactive gaming market to draw lessons on how they can curb problem gambling. What follows below is an in-depth look at how UK’s mandatory self-exclusion scheme named GamStop operates and how foreign, non GamStop Casinos stop their users from developing a compulsion towards online betting or nourishing such a preexisting condition.
UKGC’s Partnership With GamStop
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is Britain’s gaming regulator. It took over this role from the Gaming Board for Great Britain in 2007, as detailed in the Gambling Act of 2005. It monitors all forms of gambling that happen within the UK’s borders, except for spread betting. For years, the UKGC had planned on implementing a mandatory self-exclusion scheme featured at every one of its licensed operators. Intentions for such a system to go live got announced in 2017. Yet, it took three more years before it became active under the title GamStop. It gets operated by a not-for-profit organization that bears the name The National Online Self Exclusion Scheme Limited. Once a UK player activates a GamStop ban, he can no longer visit and play at any UKGC site until his chosen self-exclusion period elapses.
The UKGC has a renowned reputation as the firmest interactive gaming regulator in Europe. It looks after all UK players by supplying unparalleled player protection. It goes so far as to make every UKGC-licensed operator implement measures like spin timers, game limitations, no auto-play, and more, to lower the rates of gambling addiction in Britain. Slots sites not on GamStop offer more liberating gameplay due to them not having to feature any of these measures.
How Non GamStop Casinos Function
The list of casinos not on GamStop is immense because these are platforms with a license from an international regulator and not the UKGC. The UK Gambling Commission only monitors a little over a hundred sites active on the UK market. The other gaming platforms available for Brits are slot and bingo sites not on GamStop, which are of comparable quality but boast foreign licenses. One such famous interactive gaming licensing organization is the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). Malta is Europe’s online gambling haven, and every operator that seeks to offer its services to residents of countries with no online gaming legislation attains an MGA license to do so.
The Malta Gaming Authority is a reliable regulator and enforces many of the same measures as the UKGC. However, it is not as diligent as the previously mentioned organization. Nor is it as firm in punishing its operators. That said, many UK players prefer to play on old and new non GamStop casinos found on websites like this because these platforms offer more promotions, games, have higher max bet limits, and feature more liberating gameplay.
GamStop Platforms vs. Non GamStop Casinos
Under the hood, UK-based and non-UK sites have multiple similarities. That is so because they use many identical software solutions. Still, they differ in some areas, mainly due to the UKGC’s concerns regarding impulse control and betting. It wants to keep betting an entertainment-based activity, nothing more. That said, no one platform category is better than the other. They each have their benefits and drawbacks, some of which get listed below.
Pros of UK-Based Sites
- Super vetted operators.
- Universal self-exclusion.
- Slot gameplay is less intense.
- Third-party dispute resolution such as IBAS.
Cons of UK-Based Sites
- Less generous promotions.
- No niche transaction methods on hand.
- Irreversible self-exclusion bans.
Positives of Non GamStop Casinos.
- Vaster game libraries.
- No slot gameplay limitations.
- More payment methods on offer.
- Perk-rich VIP programs.
Negatives of Non UK Casinos
- Dispute resolution per foreign laws.
- Availability to debt accumulation payment methods (credit cards).
- No universal conditions apply to all operators.
What Gambling Addiction Measures Does the US Market Need?
Hopefully, something similar to GamStop would be perfect. However, there is no federal body that can oversee the implementation of such a program. The only two organizations that can start an initiative regarding such a nationwide scheme are the American Gaming Association and the National Council on Problem Gambling (United States). One of these entities could create such a database and offer voluntary participation to all online gambling operators that provide their services from a US jurisdiction.
Sadly, they cannot force gambling sites to implement such a scheme. But, if lobbies and authorities put pressure on the most popular online casino brands in the nation to participate, that could cause a ripple effect. Smaller, less-established gaming companies would not want to risk appearing less reliable to customers by not taking part in such a system, thus leading to it spreading nationwide. Of course, it would take some time for such an idea to come to fruition. There are still ongoing debates on the precise DOJ interpretation of the Interstate Wire Act of 1961. Does it allow US states to pass their legalization regarding online casinos or not?
To Wrap Up
There is no doubt that the US online casino market will soon explode. When it does, operators will have to take appropriate steps to ensure that everyone engages in this pastime responsibly. A GamStop-like program seems like a quality first step. Even non GamStop casinos promote responsible gambling by allowing everyone to set loss/deposit limits and site self-exclude. US online casinos offer that as well, but there is a need for state-wide and nation-wide anti-gambling addiction measures to stop the proliferation of gambling-related harm. The future of the US market is bright, and everyone in it should do their part to ensure that gambling remains fun.
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Industry-first: Dynamic, ‘Live Data’ feature in ads drives up to 20% growth in first-time depositors for iGaming customers

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Creatopy’s new Live Data feature connects creative assets to real-time data streams, enabling brands to deliver ads that update automatically based on live variables such as odds, pricing, availability or performance metrics
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iGaming customers experience up to a 20% uplift in first-time depositors in the first 3 months of their campaign
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Superbet is the latest company to adopt this new feature
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Initial Live Data release also popular among travel, finance, retail and entertainment sectors
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This news also follows a series of senior leadership appointments, including: Maikao Grare (CFO), Thibault Imbert (Chief Product & Growth Officer) and Ovidiu Gavril (CTO)
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Personalisation: allowing for ad delivery that precisely aligns with real-time audience interests, shifting market conditions or changes in available inventory.
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Real-time performance: displaying up-to-the-minute prices, availability or exclusive offers, which in turn create a sense of urgency and significantly boost conversion rates.
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Transparent metrics: showcasing verifiable, live information directly within the ad creative – this fosters greater trust and authenticity with consumers.
Compliance Updates
PHAI Files Lawsuit in Pennsylvania Over Caesars’ Dangerous Online Casino Promotion and “Pay Through Bonuses”

The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), a nonprofit advocacy organization that continues to lead the movement to develop a comprehensive public health response to the threat posed by the gambling industry, announced a new lawsuit filed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seeking to expose and stop an alleged dangerous, misleading, and illegal “deposit match” promotion by Caesars Online Casino and its brick-and-mortar partner Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino.
In this promotion, Caesars and its partners are luring new customers with a false and misleading promise of a “$2500 deposit match,” according to the lawsuit. Only in the small-print terms and conditions is it disclosed that a new customer playing Blackjack is required to gamble and risk $375,000 in just the first seven days after opening an account. In other words, no money or winnings can be withdrawn unless a total of $375,000 is gambled and risked. All money lost during the first 7-day period is kept by Caesars and Harrah’s Casino.
The lawsuit alleged that Caesars and its partners have effectively rewritten the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by mandating that new customers gamble up to $375,000 before being paid any of their winnings. The public is not told that the promotion is designed to snare new customers in a “wild chase of action,” where the bonus is unattainable and therefore impossible to win.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Mark Gottlieb, PHAI continues to spearhead the burgeoning movement to bring comprehensive public health change to the threat posed by the gambling industry and its partners across the US.
Gottlieb said: “We know the gambling industry, with the assistance of the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), is aggressively attempting to push the legalization of online casino gambling across the United States. Thus far, the seven states with online casino gambling seem ill-prepared or unwilling to regulate the wild tactics of the industry. This promotion, engineered by Caesars, is among the most egregious we have seen to date.”
Dr. Harry Levant, Director of Gambling Policy at PHAI, warned that Caesars and others in the gambling industry are acting with impunity, disregarding existing laws, and placing the public directly at risk.
According to Dr. Levant: “It is unconscionable for a gambling company to knowingly require people to gamble excessively and put their mental health at risk as a condition to cash out their winnings. More importantly, nothing in Pennsylvania’s gambling rules or laws permits a casino to refuse payment unless and until customers begin gambling to excess. This is dangerous to Caesar’s customers, immoral, and just plain wrong.”
PHAI Director of Litigation Andrew Rainer, Esq., said: “PHAI continues to utilize the courts to protect clients and the public from unreasonable risks of harm caused by the negligent, careless, and reckless conduct of the gambling industry.”
PHAI Founder and President. Dr. Richard Daynard said: “The mission of the Public Health Advocacy Institute is to protect public health and advance social justice. The days of the gambling industry disregarding public health and safety are coming to an end. When Caesars doesn’t play fair, it puts players’ health at risk.”
The case is Brubaker vs Chester Downs and Marina LLC et al. (Ct of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, First Judicial District, Case ID 250602325).
In December 2023, PHAI and its Center for Public Health Litigation filed a class action suit against DraftKings in Massachusetts that garnered nationwide headlines. In August 2024, a judge in Massachusetts denied DraftKings’ motion to dismiss, allowing the litigation to move forward.
In October 2024, PHAI filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, asking the court to compel the MGC to adhere to state law and turn over data that casinos compile to track player behavior. Under Section 97 of the Expanded Gaming Act, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is required to collect behavioral data from casino operators and share anonymized customer data with researchers. This data is essential for analyzing what casino practices are causing harm and who is being harmed. The Gaming Commission has been subject to the legal requirement to collect this data since its formation in 2011. Now, more than a decade later, the Commission has yet to collect a single piece of data from any licensee or make any data available to researchers.
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High Roller Technologies to Present at the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference on June 26

High Roller Technologies Inc., operator of award-winning premium online casino brands High Roller and Fruta, announced that Seth Young, SVP Corporate Strategy & Investor Relations, will present live at the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on June 26, 2025
DATE: June 26
TIME: 12:00 PM ET
Available for 1×1 meetings: July 1, 2025
This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.
It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.
Learn more about the event at virtualinvestorconferences.com.
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