When it comes to online gambling sites in the UK, mention is seldom made of how important an operator’s customer service department is to players.
Lots of focus falls on games, sports betting markets and options, bonuses, and banking options. What typically gets missed is a website’s customer service department or function.
To be fair, a lot of top UK online gambling sites will offer access to FAQ sections that carry all the right answers. In such cases, a customer service representative is seldom needed. However, a reliable customer service department is always worth its weight in gold when customers have legitimate issues.
In the UK, online gambling sites are required to secure a licence from the UK Gambling Commission. After securing a licence, they are required to subscribe to the GamStop Self-exclusion scheme.
GamStop offers players a way to suspend their ability to use licensed online gambling sites in the UK. As soon as they register, they are denied access to gambling accounts until their self-prescribed exclusion period ends.
Regular customers have no gambling restrictions other than the size of their bankrolls. GamStop customers can’t access anything on a UK licensed gambling site other than the customer service department.
How GamStop Customers Can Get Customer Service Support in the UK
If a GamStop-blocked gambler wants to gamble online in the UK, they can do so if they locate a licensed or unlicensed operator that is not subscribed to the GamStop database. If they are willing to ride out their self-exclusion period, they should be able to have their existing online gambling accounts reactivated when self-exclusion ends.
Either way, GamStop customers are still entitled to customer service. In fact, they are entitled to seek help with GamStop at one of two levels. Either they can reach out to their gambling site’s customer service representative or directly contact a GamStop customer service representative. In most cases, contact can be made via phone, email, or a live chat option.
Contacting customer service while dealing with a GamStop issue is a tricky process. For the most part, there are only three issues that a GamStop customer should want to raise. The first one would be a registration question. One is to get assistance with the GamStop cancellation procedure, and the other would be to reactivate an account after self-exclusion expiration. Let’s look at the three issues separately.
Questions During Registration
When registering with GamStop, customers have to do two things online. If they encounter issues when doing one of these two things, they can contact either the gambling operator’s rep or GamStop’s rep.
The first thing they have to do is file out the GamStop online registration form to completion. While doing that, they have to provide the personal information that the database will use to block future gambling account access. The required personal information includes:
- Full legal name and gambling account aliases
- Full legal home address
- Valid email address or addresses
- Phone numbers: home and cell
- Age and DOB
The other thing they have to do during registration is select a self-exclusion period from the following three choices: 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years.
Since the registration form has to be accurate, customers should absolutely speak with a customer service representative if they have any issues with registration at all.
Getting Assistance With a GamStop Cancellation
First and foremost, GamStop exists for the protection of potential problem gamblers. Since registering with the program is voluntary, an assumption is made that gamblers will only register if they really want help. That’s why there is very little to no flexibility built into the GamStop scheme. Once a customer registers and selects a self-exclusion period, the program is designed to make that record permanent until the self-exclusion period ends.
Therefore, gamblers are not supposed to be able to cancel their GamStop status. As part of the program’s terms and conditions, it’s the customer that tells the system to say no. However, GamStop customers are allowed to contact a GamStop customer service representative and ask.
Getting Assistance With GamStop Account Reactivation After GamStop Expires
When a GamStop customer’s self-exclusion period expires, they are entitled to seek reactivation of existing accounts or open new accounts. However, the reactivation process is not automatic. The GamStop block will stay in place until the customer formally requests the reinstatement and account reactivation.
To go through this process, the first call needs to go to a customer service representative with the online gambling operator’s website. That rep does have the ability to confirm that the self-exclusion has indeed expired. If that is the case, they can move forward and reactivate the account.
If by chance the expiration date comes but the operator’s customer service rep can’t reactivate the account, the next call has to go to a GamStop customer service representative. It will be incumbent on GamStop to verify the customer’s actual GamStop status. If the expiration date has arrived, there is typically a computer problem blocking the reactivation. A GamStop rep can address that and resolve the situation, though it might take days to get it done.
As a rule of thumb, customers should always contact the online operator’s customer service department before graduating to GamStop’s customer service department.
