Over 30,000 Sign Up for Australia’s BetStop Self-Exclusion Program
Australia’s national self-exclusion program, BetStop, has had a big uptake since its launch in August 2023 with over 30,000 people signing up to manage their gambling. The program is a key tool for people looking to exclude themselves from online and phone betting services.
30,000 Milestone
As of 30 September 2024, 30,493 people had signed up to BetStop according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Of this number 23,182 are still excluded, 7,311 have completed their exclusion period or cancelled early.
This shows how important self-exclusion programs are for people to manage their gambling.
Regional Breakdown
New South Wales dominated regional participation with 9,537 sign ups.
In the latest quarter to September 2024, 1,482 more people from NSW joined the program.
Victoria was second with 8,193, Queensland had 6,140, Western Australia 3,279 and South Australia 1,871.
Decline in New Sign ups
One of the trends in the BetStop data is a decline in new sign ups over the past few quarters.
The first quarter of 2024-25 had 4,521 new sign ups, down from 5,087 in the previous quarter.
This follows 5,445 new sign ups in the third quarter of 2023-24, making the first quarter of 2024-25 the quietest since the program started.
Younger Age Groups Sign up Most
Breaking it down by age, younger Australians are more likely to sign up to BetStop.
Almost half (49%) of all participants, 15,007 people, are 30 or under. 31-40 was 30%, 41-50 was 12%, 51-60 was 6% and 60+ was 3%.
So younger populations are more likely to use self-exclusion tools.
Duration of Exclusion
The BetStop data also shows how long participants chose to exclude themselves from gambling services.
39% of all participants or 11,839 chose lifetime exclusion. 39% or 12,081 chose self-exclusion periods between 3 months to 2 years.
17% or 5,141 chose 3 months and 4% or 1,192 chose 2-5 years. 1% or 294 chose more than 5 years.
