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Gambling Self-Exclusion in Europe, in Numbers

More people than ever are blocking themselves from gambling. What the latest figures show for Spelpaus in Sweden, CRUKS in the Netherlands, ROFUS in Denmark and GAMSTOP in Great Britain.

National self-exclusion registers let a person block themselves from every licensed gambling operator in their country with a single registration. Most major European markets now have one. Their growth is one of the clearest indicators of how many people want help controlling their gambling, and the numbers have risen every year.

If you want to know how these schemes work and how to use them, see our guide to responsible gambling tools.

A warning before the numbers

The registers don’t count the same thing, so their headline figures can’t be compared directly:

  • Spelpaus, CRUKS and ROFUS report how many people are excluded at a given moment.
  • GAMSTOP usually reports how many people have registered since it launched in 2018, which includes people whose exclusions have ended.

Dates also differ. We give each figure with its date and source.

Sweden: steady growth every year

Sweden’s register, Spelpaus, is run by the regulator Spelinspektionen and covers all licensed gambling that requires registration, online and in person.

People excluded through Spelpaus, Sweden

At the end of each year

  1. 2023104,301
  2. 2024120,607
  3. 2025134,484

Source: Spelinspektionen annual market statistics, as reported by Gambling Insider (February 2026). Axis runs from 0 to 140,000.

Show as table
Year endPeople excluded
2023104,301
2024120,607
2025134,484

That’s an increase of about 14,000 people a year. By the end of March 2026 the total had reached nearly 138,000. About three in four people excluded are men (101,803 men and 32,681 women at the end of 2025).

The Netherlands: past 100,000 within four years

The Dutch register, CRUKS, launched with the regulated online market in October 2021. It passed 100,000 registrations in July 2025, and the regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit, cited a figure of around 118,000 people in 2026.

Denmark: the oldest scheme

Denmark’s ROFUS, run by the regulator Spillemyndigheden, is one of Europe’s longest-running registers. In June 2025, more than 60,000 Danes had excluded themselves through it.

Great Britain: record sign-ups

GAMSTOP, the national online self-exclusion scheme for Great Britain, reported that registrations rose by 19% in 2025, with monthly sign-ups setting records. April 2025 was the busiest month so far, with 10,281 new registrations. Since 2018, nearly 600,000 people had registered with the scheme by mid-2025.

Comparing by population

A fairer comparison is to look only at the registers that count people excluded right now, relative to the size of each country.

People currently excluded, per 1,000 residents

Registers that report current exclusions; latest available figure for each

  1. Sweden (Spelpaus, Mar. 2026)13.0
  2. Denmark (ROFUS, Jun. 2025)10.0
  3. Netherlands (CRUKS, 2026)6.5

Our calculation: register figures above divided by approximate total population (Sweden 10.6 million, Denmark 6.0 million, Netherlands 18.1 million). Dates differ; axis 0 to 15 per 1,000. GAMSTOP is excluded because it reports cumulative registrations.

Show as table
RegisterPeople excludedPopulation (approx.)Per 1,000 residents
Spelpaus, Sweden (Mar. 2026)~138,00010.6 million13.0
ROFUS, Denmark (Jun. 2025)60,000+6.0 million10.0
CRUKS, Netherlands (2026)~118,00018.1 million6.5

Sweden stands out, with roughly one in every 77 residents excluded. That reflects how long Spelpaus has run, and its “until further notice” option, which lasts at least 12 months and keeps people on the register. The Dutch figure is lower partly because CRUKS is younger.

What the growth means

Rising numbers don’t simply mean more problem gambling. They also reflect schemes becoming better known, regulators and operators promoting them, and people using exclusion as a preventive step rather than a last resort. What they do show is sustained demand for a tool that works across every licensed operator at once.

They also show a gap the registers can’t close: unlicensed offshore sites don’t check them. That’s why regulators pair self-exclusion with blocking of illegal operators and payment controls.

Sources