Gambling blocking software
Gambling blocking software is a program or app installed on your own phone, tablet or computer that stops gambling websites and apps from loading on that device, whichever operator runs them. It works at the device level rather than the account level, so it does not depend on any one casino or bookmaker honouring a request. Citizens Information lists it among the practical steps for anyone trying to stop, next to self-exclusion and a gambling block set up with your bank.
How gambling blocking software works
Most blockers keep a list of known gambling domains and apps and refuse to open anything on it. Gamban, for example, states on its Google Play listing that it uses a local VPN to change the device’s network settings, and that your traffic does not pass through that VPN.
The detail you meet in practice is the side effect.
The same listing says you cannot run a third-party VPN while Gamban is active, and that it uses an Android Accessibility Service to detect gambling content on screen and make the block harder to bypass during the chosen period. Other products, BetBlocker among them, run on phones, tablets and laptops too, but each publishes its own method, so read the description before you install rather than assuming they all behave alike.
What it costs
Pricing varies between products. Gamban lists a seven-day trial, then £24.99 a year or £2.49 a month, which is roughly what a single small deposit costs you. Some blockers are free; check the store page for the current figure in euro.
Blocking software versus self-exclusion
Blocking software is most often confused with self-exclusion, and the difference decides what you are protected from. Self-exclusion is a request to an operator to refuse your bets; blocking software is a barrier on your device that no operator controls.
In Ireland, self-exclusion still works operator by operator until the National Gambling Exclusion Register opens. Section 45 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 provides for that register, run by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, so that one application covers every holder of a Business to Consumer licence offering remote gambling. Citizens Information states that a licensee cannot let a registered person sign up, accept a payment from them or send them marketing that promotes gambling.
The register stops at the licence. A casino licensed elsewhere is outside it, and a blocker on your phone covers that site too. The reverse also holds: a new account opened under another email can get past an operator’s self-exclusion, while the device block still stops the page loading.
So the two are layers, and you are better covered using both.
Where you meet blocking tools in Ireland
The GRAI’s player safety page says a gambling website must prominently show the facilities available to players to block their access, or a child’s access, to gambling websites or platforms. In practice that usually means a responsible gambling page with links to blocking tools, and what I check first is whether the link actually leads somewhere useful.
A blocker on one phone does nothing for the laptop beside it, so install it on every device you use.
If you are setting one up because gambling has got away from you, pair it with a bank block and talk to someone. The Gambling Awareness Trust runs a 24-hour national helpline on 1800 936 725, listed by the GRAI. Extern Problem Gambling offers free counselling on 089 241 5401.
