Blocking Gambling Sites on Your Own Devices: Tools and Self-Exclusion Online

Blocking tools at a glance: apps, browser settings and software

There are three layers of blocking, and they do different jobs. Knowing which layer you are using saves a lot of frustration later.

The first layer is your own device. A blocker app sits on your phone or computer and refuses to load the sites on its list. Independent guidance recommends choosing a free gambling website blocker app to constrain or limit your access to those sites¹. This layer works against any site, licensed or not, because the block happens on your hardware before the site ever loads.

The second layer is your browser. Chrome and Firefox both let you maintain a restricted site list, so a handful of addresses simply will not open. This is free, takes a few minutes, and needs no install. It is also the easiest layer to undo, which matters if you are setting this up for yourself on a bad day.

The third layer is the operator. A self-exclusion tells a licensed company to stop taking your business. It is the strongest block available, because it is enforced by the company rather than by you, but it only reaches operators that participate in the scheme.

A useful fourth habit sits alongside all three: independent guidance suggests gambling only on sites that offer pre-commitment tools, so you can set time and money limits before you start¹. That is not a block, but it is the same idea applied inside a site you have decided to keep using.

Cost: Free

Site blocker apps: Bet Blocker, GamBan and Gamblock

Blocker apps are the most practical starting point for most people, because they cover the phone in your pocket as well as the laptop at home. Independent guidance names Bet Blocker and GamBan as software you can use to block unwanted websites or set time limits¹.

The way these tools generally work is straightforward. You install the app, grant it the permissions it asks for, and it maintains a list of gambling domains that it refuses to resolve or load. Some let you set a block duration, so the block cannot be switched off on impulse. That last feature is the one that matters most. A block you can remove in ten seconds is a speed bump, not a barrier.

Betblocker is free to the public³. That matters because the paid alternatives are not obviously better for a first attempt, and a free tool removes the excuse of waiting until payday.

A few practical points before you install one:

• Install it on every device you gamble on, including the old tablet and the work laptop.
• Set the longest block period the app allows, not the shortest.
• Write down the uninstall process somewhere you will not look casually. Some apps deliberately make removal slow.
• Tell one person you have installed it. The block works better when someone else knows it is there.

If you want a second opinion on which tool suits your situation, the how-to-exclude help pages walk through the options in plain language⁶.

Browser-level blocking: restricted site lists in Chrome and Firefox

Browser blocking is the lightest option and the one most people can set up in five minutes. Both Chrome and Firefox let you build a list of restricted sites that the browser will not open.

It is worth being clear about what this does and does not do. It stops you typing an address into that browser on that device. It does not stop you installing a different browser, using a phone, or opening a link from a message. Treat it as a first line, not a solution.

Where browser blocking earns its place is on a work computer you cannot install software on, or a shared family machine. You add the addresses, and the browser refuses them for everyone using that profile.

The practical steps are the same in either browser. Open the settings, find the section for site restrictions or blocked sites, and add the addresses one at a time. Add the ones you actually use, not a generic list. A block list full of sites you have never visited does nothing.

Pair this with the app layer rather than choosing between them. The browser list catches the desktop, the app catches the phone, and together they cover most of the moments when you would otherwise open a site without thinking.

Singapore Pools self-exclusion: minimum 12 months, immediate effect

Singapore runs the most developed self-exclusion system in the region, and it is worth understanding in detail because the mechanics are unusual.

A Singapore Pools self-exclusion takes immediate effect after submission⁴. There is no cooling-off period and no waiting for approval. The moment you submit, you are excluded.

The minimum exclusion period is 12 months⁴. After that minimum, the exclusion does not lapse on its own. It stays in force until you have successfully applied to revoke it through the National Council on Problem Gambling⁴. That is the key difference from a fixed-term ban: the clock running out does not let you back in. You have to ask.

What the exclusion actually blocks is broader than Singapore Pools alone. A self-exclusion in Singapore blocks you from casinos, Singapore Pools online betting, and jackpot machine rooms at private clubs². You can apply to exclude yourself from one or more of those activities rather than all of them⁷.

If you already hold a Singapore Pools account, you lose access to it. If you do not hold one, you cannot open a new account while the exclusion is in force⁴. The company is also entitled to reject all applications and transactions from people excluded under applicable law or under voluntary self-exclusion arrangements⁸.

One detail worth knowing: if you are applying for a Singapore Pools or Singapore Turf Club betting account exclusion, you are asked not to access your betting account to gamble from the date of application, before the exclusion formally takes hold⁹.

The exclusion also covers account-related services, not just betting⁹. And the scope extends to Singapore Turf Club betting accounts and the jackpot rooms of private clubs that offer the service⁹.

How to apply: Singpass online or in person at ServiceSG centers

There are two routes, and both are free.

Online, you apply with Singpass through the NCPG portal⁴. This is the faster route and the one most people use. You will need your Singpass credentials ready.

In person, you can apply at any of seven ServiceSG centers: Bukit Canberra, Kampong Chai Chee CC, Keat Hong CC, Nee Soon Central CC, Our Tampines Hub, One Punggol and The Frontier CC⁵. The same list appears in Singapore Pools' own guidance⁴.

There is a third address that appears in older self-exclusion paperwork: applications may be made online with Singpass at the NCPG portal or in person at 510 Thomson Road #05-01, SLF Building, Singapore 298135¹⁰. If you are working from a printed form, that is the address on it.

A few practical notes for the day you apply:

• Bring your NRIC or the official document containing your FIN if you are going in person.
• If you are applying online, have your Singpass two-factor method to hand.
• The application is free¹⁰.
• You do not need to give a reason. The scheme is voluntary and does not require justification.

Organizations can also help. Bodies with a Corppass account can facilitate group self-exclusion applications for their employees, members or other associated individuals, with the individual's consent mandatory⁷. That route exists mainly for employers and clubs running welfare programs.

You can check your status afterwards. Log in at ncpg.org.sg with Singpass and use the Check Visit Limit Status function to see your NCPG casino exclusion or casino visit limit status¹¹.

Revoking a Singapore self-exclusion: courseware or counseling first

Getting out is deliberately harder than getting in, and the requirements differ by residency status.

For Singapore citizens and permanent residents, you may be prompted to complete an online psycho-education courseware, or be referred for two counseling sessions at NCPG's appointed agency⁴. The same requirement is described as an online psychoeducation course or two counseling sessions at the council's designated center, the Institute of Mental Health clinic⁵.

The revocation itself is an online application submitted with Singpass through NCPG⁴. The exclusion remains in force until that application succeeds⁵.

The underlying framework allows the Council to require participation in counseling, rehabilitation or special education, or an assessment of harm from gambling including a clinical assessment if necessary, by a suitably qualified person¹². In practice, most people who revoke after the minimum period will deal with the courseware or the two sessions rather than anything more involved.

If you are not a citizen or PR, the position is different. The counseling referral route exists for non-casino self-exclusion applicants, and charges may apply to foreigners⁹. If you are on a work pass or visiting, ask NCPG directly what applies to you before you apply, so you know what revocation will involve.

There is also a counseling option that runs alongside the exclusion rather than as a condition of leaving it. A non-casino self-exclusion applicant can request a referral for counseling, and a counselor will contact them to make an appointment⁹.

For anyone who wants to talk to a person rather than fill in a form, NCPG can be reached at 6354 8154⁴.

National schemes like GAMSTOP: what they cover and where they stop

National self-exclusion schemes are the strongest tool available, and also the most limited in reach. Understanding the boundary is the whole point.

GAMSTOP is the UK scheme. It gives consumers the opportunity to exclude themselves from all online gambling for a period of at least six months³. The phrase that matters is "all online gambling" as the scheme defines it: operators licensed in the UK. If you are in Asia and gambling on a site licensed somewhere else, GAMSTOP does not reach it.

That is the general shape of every national scheme. It binds the operators that fall under that regulator. It does nothing to an offshore site that has never sought a license there and has no intention of honouring a register it is not part of.

So the practical question to ask before relying on a national scheme is: which operators does this actually cover, and are those the ones I use? If the answer is no, the scheme is not your tool. A device blocker is.

In Singapore, the equivalent reach is set out clearly. A self-exclusion blocks you from casinos, Singapore Pools online betting, and jackpot machine rooms at private clubs². Those are the licensed, physical and online products in the jurisdiction. It does not block an offshore casino website.

There is a related tool for families. A Family Exclusion Order can be applied for by individuals seeking to exclude a family member whose gambling has caused serious harm to the family, and it covers casinos at Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands, jackpot machine rooms at private clubs, and Singapore Pools online betting¹³. Again, the same boundary applies.

The regulator's powers have been tightened over time. Changes taking effect on September 21, 2026 allow NCPG to immediately substitute an Exclusion Order with a Visit Limit and vice versa, and to impose more stringent safeguards such as replacing a Visit Limit with an Exclusion Order where necessary¹⁴.

Macau runs its own isolation system for casino exclusion, and an excluded person there may choose to accept or decline counseling services from problem gambling prevention bodies¹⁵. The choice is theirs, which is a different design from Singapore's revocation conditions.

For players in India, there is no equivalent register to join. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 imposes a complete ban on all forms of online money games, including games of chance, games of skill and any mix of the two, along with their advertising, promotion and facilitation¹⁶. Where the activity itself is banned outright, a self-exclusion register has nothing to attach to.

Hong Kong takes a different route again, with counseling and treatment rather than a register. The problem gambling counseling hotline there is 1834 633, supported by all four counseling and treatment centers¹⁷.

In mainland China, enforcement notices have made the position plain. A public security notice in Dingcheng District, Changde, prohibits gambling for profit through electronic game machines, chess and cards, mahjong, dominoes, dice, Mark Six lottery, the internet, WeChat red packets and Texas Hold'em¹⁸. Blocking tools are useful there for a different reason: they keep you away from activity that carries real risk.

The honest summary is this. Use a device blocker for the sites no scheme will ever cover. Use a national self-exclusion for the licensed operators in your jurisdiction, because it is enforced by the company rather than by your own willpower. Use both if you want the coverage to be complete.