BetStop Turns Three With 67,480 Registrations and 41,290 Active Exclusions
BetStop, Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register for online and phone wagering, marked three years of operation on 21 August 2026. Data released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) shows 67,480 registrations since the register opened in August 2023, with 41,290 exclusions active as at 31 July 2026. The ACMA has also set up a BetStop Taskforce to act on an independent review of the service completed earlier this year.
What the numbers show
- 67,480 registrations in three years.
- 41,290 active exclusions at 31 July 2026, or about 61% of all registrations. The gap reflects people whose chosen exclusion period has ended.
- 78% of registrants are aged under 40.
- 38% of registrants chose to exclude themselves for life.
Exclusion periods run from a minimum of three months up to a lifetime. While a person is registered, licensed online and phone wagering providers must not let them place bets or open new accounts, and must not send them direct marketing.
The share of lifetime exclusions shows that more than a third of people who sign up are not looking for a short break, while the under-40 figure shows that the register is used mostly by younger adults.
The review and the taskforce
An independent statutory review of BetStop, released earlier in 2026, found the register was delivering benefits but identified room to improve in three areas: public awareness, the user experience of signing up and managing an exclusion, and support for people once they are registered. The ACMA has set up a BetStop Taskforce to put the review’s recommendations into practice, working with stakeholders on stronger support pathways for registrants.
The gambling reform package passed by Parliament on 19 August 2026 adds two changes linked to BetStop. Wagering companies will be banned from sending direct inducement marketing to a person for three months after they deregister from BetStop, and a new cost recovery levy will let the government recover the cost of promoting BetStop from gambling companies.
What it means for Australian players
BetStop covers every bookmaker licensed in Australia, so a single registration blocks access to all of them. It does not cover land-based venues such as pubs, clubs and casinos, which have their own state-based self-exclusion programs, and it does not cover offshore online casinos, which are not licensed to offer services to Australians in the first place.
Enforcement is active. In September 2026 the ACMA reported that bookmaker Palmerbet had kept a BetStop registrant’s account open for about 17 months and accepted 312 bets from that person; the company entered an 18-month court-enforceable undertaking.
If you are thinking about registering, our guide to how BetStop works covers the sign-up steps and exclusion periods. For a shorter pause, cooling-off periods and time-outs offered by individual operators may suit, and our self-exclusion overview compares the national register with venue and state schemes. Free, confidential support is available through the services listed on our help services page.
Background
BetStop launched on 21 August 2023 after the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering, agreed by federal, state and territory governments, called for a single national register. The ACMA administers it. Registration is free and is done online with identity verification; once registered, a person cannot cancel an exclusion before the chosen period ends.
67,480 registrations since August 2023, with 41,290 exclusions active at 31 July 2026, according to ACMA data released for the register’s third anniversary.
Three months. The longest is a lifetime exclusion, which 38% of registrants have chosen.
No. BetStop covers licensed Australian online and phone wagering providers. Offshore online casinos are not licensed in Australia and are outside the register.
Sources
- Focus Gaming News: BetStop reaches 67,480 registrations after three years (21 August 2026)
- iGamingToday: BetStop registrations pass 67,000 three years after launch (22 August 2026)
- Minister for Communications: Three years of BetStop (August 2026)
- Australian Labor Party: Strongest ever gambling reforms passed (19 August 2026)
Header photo: Fairphone 02 grey phone in hand on couch Kera 0091 C1 RGB (51535916380) by Fairphone, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.