QWIT
Self-exclusion, blocking apps and deposit limits: the full toolkit
Deciding to stop is one thing. Making it structurally hard to start again is another — and it's the part that actually protects a decision made on a good day from a craving that hits on a bad one. None of these tools require willpower in the moment; that's the whole point of using them.
National self-exclusion registers
Most countries with regulated gambling markets run some form of national self-exclusion register — a single sign-up that blocks your access across every licensed operator in that market simultaneously, rather than one site at a time. Enrollment is typically free, self-initiated, and deliberately hard to reverse quickly: exclusion periods usually run from six months to several years, and reinstatement is never immediate even if you change your mind the next day. That delay is a designed feature, not a bug — it removes the option in exactly the window it would otherwise be used.
Coverage varies by country and by which operators are licensed locally, so it's worth checking what your national gambling regulator offers — it's usually one of the most effective single steps available, precisely because it doesn't rely on any one site's individual settings.
Bank-level gambling blocks
A newer and increasingly common tool: many banks now let you flag your own debit or credit card so that gambling-related transactions are declined automatically, industry-wide, without needing to identify individual operators. Some let you set a cooling-off period before the block can be lifted — commonly 48 hours — which builds in the same kind of delay as national registers, but at the card level. It's worth asking your bank directly if this isn't visible in the app, since availability and naming vary a lot between institutions.
Third-party blocking software
Tools like Gamban, BetBlocker and Gamblock work at the device level, blocking access to thousands of gambling sites and apps across browsers and operating systems — including sites that pop up faster than any single person could add to a manual blocklist. They're typically inexpensive or free (some are funded by industry settlements specifically to be offered at no cost), and unlike browser-only blockers, most cover mobile apps as well as desktop. Installing one on every device you own, not just your phone, is the detail people most often skip and most often regret skipping.
Deposit, loss and time limits
Short of full exclusion, every licensed operator is required in most regulated markets to offer account-level limits: a maximum deposit per day, week or month; a loss limit; a session time limit; or a reality-check notification that interrupts long sessions. These are useful as a lighter first step, but they share a real weakness — they're set through the operator itself, and some allow limits to be raised faster than they can be lowered. Set them low, and treat any request to raise them as a signal worth pausing on rather than a routine account setting.
Layering the tools
No single tool covers every path back in — a national register doesn't stop unlicensed offshore sites, and a device blocker doesn't stop a bank transfer to a friend. That's why the tools work best stacked: register, bank block, device-level software, and low limits together close far more doors than any one of them alone. Apps like Qwit can sit alongside this toolkit, tracking urges and streaks the same way they would for any other habit being rebuilt.
Your country's gambling helpline can usually walk you through which of these tools apply locally and how to set them up in one call.
Sources: GamCare (National Gambling Self-Exclusion Scheme); UK Gambling Commission; NCPG (National Council on Problem Gambling); Gamban and BetBlocker public documentation.