How to Self-Exclude From Gambling

What self-exclusion means and who it covers

Self-exclusion is a voluntary arrangement where you ask to be banned from gambling. In its simplest form, used by many online operators, it is a tool that prevents you from gambling by blocking your access to the website you excluded with, for a definite or indefinite period that you can extend⁸. You are the one who starts it, and in most schemes you are also the one who has to ask for it to end.

Singapore gives the idea its fullest legal shape. Under the Casino Control Act, self-exclusion means a ban of a person, on their own voluntary application, from entering or remaining on, or taking part in any casino gambling on, all casino premises; from gaming machine rooms; or from engaging in all manner of general remote gambling, or any combination of these¹⁰. In other words, you can choose what to be banned from: just the casinos, just the online side, or everything at once.

Who it covers depends on where you are. In Singapore, any individual can apply, whether citizen, permanent resident, foreign resident or visitor, and the same application process serves them all. In the Philippines, PAGCOR's program is aimed at patrons who feel that they, or a relative, are developing a problem with gaming³. In Macau, an individual may apply to exclude himself or herself from casinos, and a spouse, ascendant, descendant, or family member within the second degree of kinship by blood may also request an exclusion⁷. The common thread is that the person being excluded is the one the scheme is built around, even when someone else starts the process.

If you are wondering whether self-exclusion is the right step, the signs of a gambling problem and the self-assessment tests on this site can help you decide.

Singapore: the national scheme and what it blocks

Singapore runs the most comprehensive self-exclusion scheme in Asia. Individuals may apply to exclude themselves from one or more of the following gambling activities: the two casinos, Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands; jackpot machine rooms at private clubs; and Singapore Pools online betting¹¹. A single application can cover all three.

The scheme is administered by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), not by the operators themselves. That matters because it means one central body holds your exclusion, and every licensed operator in the covered activities has to enforce it. Licensees must bar excluded persons from gambling, and the Gambling Control Act even allows them to refuse to pay winnings to excluded persons¹².

The application is free and can be done online with SingPass at the NCPG online portal, or in person at the NCPG office at 510 Thomson Road, #05-01 SLF Building, Singapore 298135⁴. Singapore Pools also lists in-person application at ServiceSG centers, including Bukit Canberra, Kampong Chai Chee CC, Keat Hong CC, Nee Soon Central CC, Our Tampines Hub, One Punggol and The Frontier CC¹³. Once submitted, a Singapore Pools voluntary self-exclusion takes effect immediately¹³.

One point worth knowing: the casino side of the scheme covers only the two integrated resorts, because Singapore law permits two casinos only². There is nowhere else in the country where a casino exclusion needs to reach.

Singapore durations and revocation: until the Council lifts it

Singapore's self-exclusion works differently from most schemes you will encounter: it has no fixed end date. The law says the person is subject to the self-exclusion they applied for, whenever it was made, until the Council revokes it². There is no automatic expiry after six months or a year.

For the Singapore Pools side, the exclusion remains in force until you successfully apply for revocation through NCPG, online via SingPass, and there is a minimum exclusion period of 12 months before you can do so¹³. The NCPG guidance confirms the same rule for the casino scheme: the Self-Exclusion or Voluntary Visit Limit will remain in force until it is revoked successfully¹⁵.

Revocation is not automatic. The Council may require you to participate in counseling, rehabilitation or special education, or to undergo an assessment of harm from gambling, including a clinical assessment if necessary, by a suitably qualified person, before it lifts the ban¹⁰. This is a deliberate cooling-off design: the barrier stays up until you actively take it down, and taking it down involves more than clicking a button.

There is one exception for people who are not Singapore citizens or permanent residents. The Council may revoke a self-exclusion without any application if the person is not a citizen or permanent resident and has remained outside Singapore for the prescribed minimum period⁶. So a foreign visitor who self-excludes and then leaves the country for good may find the ban lifted on its own.

If you want the full picture of ending an exclusion early, see can you cancel a self-exclusion early?.

Philippines: PAGCOR self-exclusion and where the order is enforced

The Philippine scheme is run by PAGCOR, the national regulator, and it is aimed at patrons who feel that they are developing a problem with gambling¹⁶. PAGCOR also provides patrons who feel that relatives or they themselves are developing a problem with gaming the option of barring them from the gaming venue or site³.

The key feature is enforcement. Regardless of where the application was made, the self-exclusion order is enforced in all PAGCOR operated and regulated gaming facilities³. That means you do not need to exclude yourself casino by casino: one order follows you across the PAGCOR network, covering both land-based venues under its regulation and its licensed online operations.

Applicants may request an exclusion period of 6 months, 1 year or 5 years³. Unlike Singapore's open-ended ban, you choose a defined term up front.

PAGCOR's regulatory framework also requires its licensees and operators to make dedicated personnel and information available for responsible gaming queries, including exclusion and banning, treatment and rehabilitation centers, and support groups¹⁶. For more information and assistance, PAGCOR lists a helpline at (02) 8248-9568¹⁶. The same framework covers the regulator's own exclusion programs: patrons who feel they are developing a problem with gambling can apply to bar themselves, and family members can request the exclusion of a relative, with the resulting order enforced in all PAGCOR operated and regulated gaming facilities regardless of where the application was made.

How to apply: online, through an operator, or via a central register

How you apply depends on which scheme you are using, and the differences are practical ones worth knowing before you start.

Singapore. Apply online with SingPass at the NCPG online portal, or in person at the NCPG office on Thomson Road. Application is free⁴. Organizations with a Corppass account can also facilitate group Self-Exclusion applications for their employees, members or other individuals associated with the organization, with consent from the individuals mandatory¹. For the older paper route, NCPG accepted mailed application forms but only with an original signature, not a photocopy¹⁸.

Macau. The DICJ, the gaming regulator, accepts a written application submitted in person at its office, or an electronic application through the Responsible Gambling Information Kiosks¹⁹. On the application form you can request exclusion from all casinos of games of fortune or chance, or only from certain casinos, naming the operators not covered by the exclusion²⁰. So in Macau you can tailor the ban to specific properties if you want to.

Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club runs a Voluntary Account Suspension Service: betting account holders can apply in person at a racecourse or any off-course betting branch by submitting an application form²¹. This is an operator-level scheme rather than a national one, so it covers your HKJC betting account rather than every gambling venue in the city.

Operator-level schemes. Many licensed online operators, especially those licensed offshore, require players wishing to self-exclude to submit their request directly to the relevant licensed operator²². There is no central register: you exclude yourself site by site.

A practical way to think about it: Singapore and the Philippines offer central schemes where one application covers many venues; Macau offers a central scheme you can narrow; Hong Kong and most online operators offer per-account schemes. If you gamble across several operators, you may need several applications.

Durations compared: 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, permanent

The length of a self-exclusion is where the schemes differ most, and the choice matters because it determines how long the barrier stays up without further action from you.

The Canadian example is included because it shows the range a menu-based system can offer: at Ontario's casinos and charitable gaming centers, players can choose 3 months, 6 months, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years, and online account holders can choose anything from 1 day up to 5 years²⁴. Ontario also runs BetGuard, a province-wide digital self-exclusion program that lets you exclude yourself from all regulated digital gambling sites in the province in one place, from 6 months to 5 years²⁵. No Asian jurisdiction yet offers a single online register of that kind covering every licensed site, though Singapore comes closest for the activities it licenses.

Japan's system, introduced under its casino resort regulations, takes a different approach again: a self-exclusion measure runs for the period set when it starts, but after one year has elapsed from the start, the person may end it before the period expires if they wish²³. Where the measure was requested by family or related persons, it may also end after one year if continuation is not necessary for gambling addiction prevention and the person wishes it²³.

Macau adds a timing rule on the way out: revocation of a self-exclusion prohibition takes effect only 30 days after the request is submitted⁵. That 30-day gap is a deliberate buffer against a late-night change of heart.

What happens to your account and money when you exclude

A self-exclusion does not confiscate your money. During a self-exclusion, players are prevented from gambling, but funds held on account are not forfeited and can still be withdrawn⁹. That is the general rule, and it applies to the schemes described on this page.

The practical catch is timing. Some operators state that any request to withdraw the remaining balance standing in the player's favor should be submitted before the self-exclusion, and cannot be validated during the self-exclusion period²⁶. So if you have money sitting in an account, it is worth requesting the withdrawal first, then excluding.

Offshore poker and casino sites handle exclusion differently from one another. One crypto casino's program, for example, lets a player exclude from a single section, such as the casino or the sportsbook, while keeping access to the rest of the site²⁶. A full exclusion works differently: the account is completely locked, with no login, deposit, withdrawal or play, marketing stops, new accounts are banned, and any remaining balance can be withdrawn through customer service²⁶. Because terms vary this much between operators, the exact effect of an exclusion depends on the site's own rules.

For a fuller walkthrough of the days after you exclude, see what happens after you self-exclude.

Penalties for excluded persons who breach the ban

The rules on what happens if you break your own ban vary, and in one important case they are softer than you might expect.

In Singapore, an excluded person must not engage in any gambling in or from Singapore in contravention of any gambling ban applicable to them¹². That covers the gambling licensed under the Gambling Control Act, outside the casinos. Within the casinos, the position is different: the offense of entering or remaining on, or taking part in casino gambling on, casino premises does not apply to persons excluded only by self-exclusion or a voluntary visit limit⁶. In other words, if you walk into Marina Bay Sands in breach of your own voluntary exclusion, the operator must remove you and can refuse to pay you winnings, but you have not committed a criminal offense the way a person under a family or third-party exclusion order has.

In Macau, the rule is firmer. Failure by an excluded person to comply with the requirement to stay out of casinos during the exclusion period constitutes a crime of disobedience¹⁹. So breaching a Macau self-exclusion is a criminal matter, not just a matter of being escorted out.

The practical takeaway is the same everywhere: the exclusion works best when you treat it as a real barrier rather than a test. Operators use facial recognition and identity checks to catch excluded persons, but the scheme's real protection is that it removes the decision from you in the moment.

Third-party exclusion and visit limits

Self-exclusion is not the only tool. Most schemes also let someone else start the process, or let you limit rather than ban yourself.

In Singapore, the NCPG operates several related orders:

• Family Exclusion Order / Family Visit Limit. Imposed upon application by a family member, the NCPG can ban or limit visits if the person's gambling behavior has caused harm to their family. Individuals may apply to exclude a family member whose gambling has caused serious harm to the family, from the casinos, jackpot machine rooms at private clubs, and Singapore Pools online betting²⁷.
• Third-Party Exclusion Order. Imposed by the NCPG without any application, to ban or limit casino visits by individuals who have a poor credit record or are vulnerable to financial harm due to their gambling behavior²⁷. You do not ask for this one, and you cannot opt out of it.
• Voluntary Visit Limit. If you suspect you may have a gambling problem but do not want a full ban, you can apply to limit or stop your access to gambling facilities²⁹. A visit limit caps how often you can go, rather than barring you entirely.

In Macau, the family route exists too: a spouse, ascendant, descendant, or family member within the second degree of kinship by blood may request an exclusion, subject to confirmation⁷. In the Philippines, PAGCOR's program explicitly serves patrons who feel that relatives are developing a problem with gaming, not only those worried about themselves³.

One humane detail from Macau: an excluded person may choose to accept or decline counseling services from problem gambling prevention bodies³⁰. Counseling is offered, not forced.

If someone else's gambling is the worry, see family exclusion orders and help for families of problem gamblers.

Where the schemes stop: offshore sites and per-operator gaps

No scheme covers everything, and knowing the gaps matters as much as knowing the coverage.

The first gap is offshore online gambling. Singapore's self-exclusion reaches all manner of general remote gambling as defined in its law, and PAGCOR's order reaches its operated and regulated facilities, but an online casino licensed in Curaçao, Anjouan or elsewhere is outside both systems. Many of those operators run their own self-exclusion, but under offshore rules players must submit their request directly to the relevant licensed operator, and there is no central register that carries your exclusion from one site to another²². If you gamble across several offshore sites, you would need to exclude yourself at each one, and a site you have never used knows nothing about your exclusion elsewhere.

The second gap is within jurisdictions. Hong Kong's Voluntary Account Suspension Service covers your HKJC betting account, not other gambling. Macau's scheme lets you name the casinos to exclude, which means you can also leave some out. And in jurisdictions such as India, where casinos are regulated at the state level and each property runs its own entry rules, there is no national self-exclusion register at all: a ban at one casino says nothing about the next one.

The third gap is enforcement reality. A self-exclusion is a strong barrier, but it is not a physical lock. The most effective approach combines a formal exclusion where one exists with practical steps: blocking software such as Gamban, handing over control of money to someone you trust, and the support services and helplines listed elsewhere on this site. If you are ready to stop, our page on how to stop gambling sets out the first steps in order.