Gamban gambling blocker

What is the Gamban gambling blocker?

Gamban is an application you install on your devices to block access to online gambling sites and apps. Rather than relying on you to avoid temptation, it puts a barrier between your phone and gambling services, so a weak moment meets a blocked page rather than a deposit screen.

It's one of several blocking tools covered in our safer gambling hub. Unlike GAMSTOP, which is a national scheme run with UK operators, Gamban is a private software company, so the details below come from its own published description on Gamban's website (opens in a new tab) and from the Gambling Commission's guidance on blocking.

What the Gamban blocker covers, and what it leaves to other tools

Gamban works at device level. Once it's installed on a phone or laptop, that device can't reach the gambling sites and apps it blocks. That includes casino websites opened in a browser, which is the gap that built-in phone settings tend to leave open.

What it doesn't do is just as important. A blocker on your phone doesn't close your casino accounts, return your balance or stop marketing emails, and it can't stop your debit card paying a gambling merchant from a device it isn't on. Those jobs belong to other tools:

• Accounts: GAMSTOP self-exclusion stops every online operator licensed in Great Britain letting you gamble, on any device.
• Payments: bank gambling blocks stop card payments to gambling merchants at banks that offer them.
• Marketing: UK rules let you opt out of casino, betting and bingo marketing by channel, and self-exclusion removes you from lists within two days.

Think of Gamban as the lock on the door, GAMSTOP as the operators agreeing not to serve you, and a bank block as the till refusing your card. Each covers a different gap.

Gamban vs GAMSTOP vs bank blocks vs phone settings

People often ask whether they need Gamban if they already have GAMSTOP. The honest answer is that they do different jobs, and many people use both, as Gamban itself suggests. This comparison shows where each tool fits.

If you only use an iPhone, our guide to blocking gambling apps on iPhone shows how Screen Time and Gamban fit together. Android users can follow the steps to block gambling apps on Android.

Gamban cost, free trial and getting it through your bank

Gamban is a paid blocker, and it offers a free trial so you can see how it works on your devices before committing. Prices can change, so check Gamban's own site for the current cost rather than relying on a figure you read elsewhere.

There's also a bank route. The Gambling Commission's guide to blocking gambling transactions (opens in a new tab) notes that Halifax and Lloyds give customers access to Gamban. If you bank with either, look in their gambling support pages first. Our guide to gambling blocks on banking apps explains where these settings usually live.

How to set up a Gamban-based blocking plan

Installing a blocker takes minutes, but a plan that lasts needs a few extra steps around it. Here's a sensible order, with Gamban at the centre and the other layers around it.

1. Write down every device you could gamble on: phones, tablets, laptops and desktops.
2. Get Gamban from its official website, or through Halifax or Lloyds if you bank with them.
3. Install it on each device, following Gamban's own instructions for that operating system.
4. Delete any casino or betting apps still on your phone.
5. Register with GAMSTOP so UK-licensed operators can't let you gamble, whatever the device.
6. Turn on your bank's gambling block if it offers one.
7. Tell someone you trust what you've set up, so you're not holding the plan alone.

Our step-by-step guide to blocking gambling apps with Gamban adds more detail on fitting it around your phone's own settings, and the glossary entry for Gamban gives a one-line definition you can share.

Does Gamban work? What the evidence says

Gamban's own site cites an evaluation that found it "up to 99% effective". That figure comes from the company's description of itself, so treat it as a vendor claim rather than a regulator's verdict. No blocking tool can promise to catch everything.

In practice, a blocker's real value is time. It turns a ten-second impulse into a much longer task, and urges often fade within that gap. It works best as one layer among several, which is why our overview of safer gambling tools in casino apps recommends combining device, account and bank protections.

Using the Gamban blocker on iPhone and Android

Phones are where most online gambling now happens. The Gambling Commission's figures show 60% of online gamblers had used a mobile phone to gamble in 2021, so that's the first device to protect.

• iPhone and iPad: use Gamban alongside Screen Time's Content & Privacy Restrictions, which can block app installs or restrict apps above an age rating. See our iPhone casino apps guide for device background.
• Android: keep the install unknown apps permission switched off so casino APKs can't be added, and use Digital Wellbeing timers on anything you can't remove. Our Android phones page covers the platform.
• Both: turn off notifications from any gambling app or operator email; our page on notifications and gambling urges explains why that matters.

Gamban for families and shared devices

If a household shares a tablet or laptop, a blocker on that device protects everyone who uses it. That can be reassuring for families with teenagers, though UK operators must already verify age before anyone can deposit or play, even in free demo games.

If you're worried about someone else's gambling, it's natural to want to install a blocker for them. It tends to work far better as something they choose, after an honest conversation, than as something done to them. Our page for people affected by someone else's gambling and the guide to sharing a phone and casino apps have practical ideas.

Who the Gamban gambling blocker suits best

Gamban isn't the right first step for everyone, but it fits some situations particularly well:

• People who already use GAMSTOP and want to stop seeing gambling sites in their browser too.
• Anyone with several devices who wants one licence to cover them all.
• Halifax and Lloyds customers, who can get access through their bank.
• People who want a barrier on a device that a phone's built-in settings don't fully cover.

If cost is a barrier, start with the free tools: GAMSTOP, a bank block and your phone's settings. You can add a blocker later. Our page on budgeting for casino apps can also help if money worries are part of the picture.

Pairing blocking software with real support

Blocking software controls access; it doesn't deal with the reasons behind the urge. Talking to someone can make every tool on this page work better, and it's free and confidential.

The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare, is open 24/7 on 0808 8020 133, with live chat and WhatsApp; you can also contact GamCare online (opens in a new tab). People in Wales can also ring the NHS Wales Helpline on 0808 2819 265. Our help and support page lists NHS gambling clinics and Gamblers Anonymous meetings too.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.