The Off Switch

How to lock yourself out of sports betting.

Freeze, pause, or disable your account on the app.

Every app has a lockout built in. It takes about two minutes, and you choose how long it lasts.

Find your app → Statewide ExclusionRecommended if available

One form. Every licensed sportsbook in your state.

State programs vary, and not every state runs one — but where it exists it is the strongest option for most people. One form with your state regulator puts you on a list every licensed operator must check. Find out what self-exclusion looks like in your state.

Find your state →

Block the sites and the money Blocking apps, and the card code that stops deposits clearing. Talk to someone Helplines, meetings, and support for families.

Option 1 · App-level

Where the switch is in each app

A cool-off or timeout locks you out on a timer, then lets you back in. Self-exclusion is longer, and in most apps support cannot reverse it early — that is the point of it. Read the length before you confirm.

Option 2 · Statewide

What self-exclusion looks like in your state

One form, every licensed operator in the state. If your state runs a program, this is the single highest-leverage thing you can do. If it does not, that is marked too — lock each app instead, then block the sites.

Program — enrol online Program — in person only No statewide program

Tap a coloured state to jump to it. Full details for every state are listed below.

A national self-exclusion program (NVSEP) has been in development, expected to start in New England before expanding. It is not live nationwide — do not wait for it.

Make it stick

Block the sites and the money

State lists only bind licensed operators. Offshore sites ignore them entirely, which is why people who exclude at state level and stop there can end up somewhere worse. These two blocks close that gap.

Block the sites

BetBlocker Free

A UK registered charity, free forever, no account needed. Blocks roughly 335,000 gambling sites on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, and you can set a period you cannot cancel. betblocker.org

Gamban

Paid, around $3 a month, and meaningfully harder to bypass. Many state helplines and treatment programs hand out free licences — ask before you pay. gamban.com

Stop yourself reinstalling

Deleting the app is not a block. On iPhone: Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → iTunes & App Store Purchases → set Installing Apps to Don't Allow, then have someone else set the passcode.

Block the money

Ask your bank for a gambling block

Card networks file betting merchants under merchant category code 7995. Ask your bank to block MCC 7995. Naming the code gets you past the agent who says it is not possible.

Clear the stored rails

Remove saved cards from each sportsbook, and revoke it under PayPal → Settings → Payments → Automatic Payments. A saved card is the difference between a relapse that takes four seconds and one that takes twenty minutes.

Withdraw the balance first

Self-excluding with money in the account is a common trap — some operators make you contact support to release it afterwards, which means talking to the company you are trying to leave.

People, not tools

Talk to someone

National Problem Gambling Helpline — 1-800-MY-RESET

Call or text 1-800-697-3738, 24/7, free and confidential. Chat at ncpgambling.org/chat. Run by the National Council on Problem Gambling. Their older number, 1-800-522-4700, still works.

1-800-GAMBLER

The number printed on every sportsbook ad. Since a September 2025 court ruling it is run by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey rather than the NCPG — so the ad number and the national helpline are now two different organisations. Both will help you. 800gambler.org

Gamblers Anonymous

Free peer meetings, in person and online, most days of the week in most states. gamblersanonymous.org

Gam-Anon — for the people around it

If you are here about someone else's betting, this is the one for you. gam-anon.org

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Gambling debt carries a far higher suicide risk than most people realise. If the thought has crossed your mind tonight, call or text 988.