Please help… I’m self-excluded but was still able to gamble using my partner’s name

Hi everyone,

I really need some advice because I’m completely overwhelmed and confused about what happened.

I’m currently self-excluded through GAMSTOP, but I still managed to sign up and gamble on a betting site and I genuinely don’t understand how I wasn’t blocked.

Just to be clear — I am not an addicted gambler.

I’ve only ever gambled twice in my entire life, and both times were during moments where my mental health was really bad. This wasn’t recreational gambling for me — it was compulsive behaviour triggered by my symptoms, not something I normally do.

The site let me deposit and withdraw without asking for any ID or checking whether the card name matched the account holder.

I suffer from depression, PTSD, anxiety and recently diagnosed ADHD. When all this happened, I wasn’t in a stable state of mind at all. Now I feel guilty, distressed and I’m in my overdraft.

What I don’t understand is:

• Shouldn’t I have been blocked by GAMSTOP?
• Shouldn’t the operator have verified my identity before allowing deposits/withdrawals?
• Shouldn’t the card name mismatch have been flagged?
• Shouldn’t there have been some kind of safer-gambling interaction when I was depositing large sums in minutes?

I’ve opened a complaint with the operator, but I have no idea what the outcome will be.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where GAMSTOP didn’t stop you and the operator refunded the deposits? Any advice or shared experiences would mean so much right now. Thank you