The GamProtect Scheme at Virgin Games 

GamProtect is a UK gambling industry initiative that lets participating online gambling operators share a limited set of player details for one specific purpose: to close matching accounts across sites when a player has been identified as being at risk of serious health-related gambling harm.  

Virgin Games is a participating operator, alongside a range of other UK-licensed gambling companies. The register runs quietly in the background of a Virgin Games account - alongside the rest of our responsible gambling framework - and most players will never come into contact with it.  

Where GamProtect Came From 

GamProtect was developed in response to the UK Gambling Commission's Single Customer View challenge, which asked the industry to find a way of joining up player-risk information across operators. Before the register existed, one UK gambling site could identify a player at risk while other sites had no visibility of the concern, leaving obvious gaps in cross-industry safeguarding.  

The scheme launched in 2023 on a trial basis with a founding group of operators including Bally's, Flutter, bet365, Entain and evoke, and Virgin Games participates through Gamesys Operations Limited, a Bally's group company.

The initiative is overseen by GamProtect Limited and operates under privacy standards agreed with the Information Commissioner's Office, so player details are kept safe always.  

The full list of participating operators is published on the official GamProtect website.  

Who Decides to Add a Player to GamProtect 

Under GamProtect, participating operators decide who is added to the shared register. Players cannot opt in to GamProtect and cannot opt out of it. Every entry on the register is the result of an operator decision made through its safer gambling monitoring and its interactions with the player concerned.

Players are notified by email once their details have been added, so the process is never hidden from the person involved. The five industry-agreed criteria used by all participating operators are consistent, and the judgement about whether any of them applies rests with the operator rather than the player.

An operator will add a player to GamProtect where it has established that the player: 

• Has a gambling problem or online gambling addiction 

• Is seeking support or treatment for gambling-related harm 

• May cause harm to themselves or another person 

• Should not gamble because of a medical or health-related condition 

• Wants to stop gambling permanently because gambling is causing harm 

Operator judgement draws on the wider picture of the player's account behaviour, safer gambling interactions on record, and information the player has shared during those interactions.

The register is not a marketing tool, and it cannot be used for any purpose other than the one it was built for. 

Exactly What Personal Details Are Shared with GamProtect 

The GamProtect register works with the minimum data needed to identify the same customer across multiple participating sites. The details held on the register are limited to: 

• First name and surname 

• Date of birth 

• Postcode 

• Email address 

• Telephone number 

• A unique customer ID assigned by the Closing Operator 

No transactional data, gameplay history or financial information is shared between operators. The register is designed to identify a person, not to profile them.

Because the underlying reason for a GamProtect entry involves health-related information, the register itself is treated as special category personal data under UK data protection law and is held under strict access controls. 

How Closing and Receiving Operators Handle Your Account 

Every GamProtect case sits between two roles, and the same participating site can find itself in either.

A Closing Operator is the site whose safer gambling processes first identified the player as being at risk; that operator adds the player to the register and closes the account. A Receiving Operator is any other participating site whose customer details match a record on the register. 

Where Virgin Games acts as the Closing Operator, our Customer Service team owns the closure and any subsequent review. Where Virgin Games acts as the Receiving Operator, the matching account will be closed or restricted in line with the scheme, and Virgin Games will not be told the specific reason behind the original decision.

Cross-checking against the register runs on a regular basis, so protective action can be taken without delay.  

Why Details Stay on the Register for Five Years 

A GamProtect record is active for five years from the date a player is first added by the Closing Operator. During those five years, every participating operator is expected to keep the matched player excluded from its gambling services. After the active period ends, the Closing Operator can be asked to review whether removal from the register is appropriate. 

Removal from GamProtect does not automatically reopen a Virgin Games account. Any request to reactivate a closed account will still be subject to safer gambling checks, verification and regulatory obligations, and the outcome is not guaranteed. 

GamProtect and GAMSTOP: Two Different Schemes 

GamProtect is sometimes confused with GAMSTOP, but the two work on different principles. GAMSTOP is a customer-led self-exclusion service that any player can register with directly, and it blocks access across all UK-licensed online gambling sites for the length of the exclusion the player chooses. 

The GamProtect scheme is operator-led, has no customer sign-up route, and applies only to participating sites. The two work alongside each other, and Virgin Games players who want a broad self-exclusion option without meeting the GamProtect criteria should look at GAMSTOP first. 

Player Protection at Virgin Games 

GamProtect initiative operates as the industry-wide end of the safer gambling measures that Virgin Games participates in. It handles the highest-risk cases at a cross-operator level, while our on-site help tools cover the earlier stages. Session reminders, session limits, spend limits and cool-off periods are all available directly through your account settings. 

Confidential support is also available outside the site for anyone whose gambling is affecting their wellbeing, finances or relationships. The National Gambling Helpline is available 24 hours a day on 0808 8020 133, and GamCare offers ongoing advice through its trained advisers. 

Set your spend limits, use session reminders, and take a break when you need one. Visit our responsible gambling page for the full set of player-protection tools at Virgin Games.