Guide
How to block gambling
on your iPhone.
There are free ways and paid ways, and the strongest setup uses a few of them together. Here's each one honestly, including what it misses.
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1. Screen Time website limits (free, built in)
Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store, Media, Web & Games → Web Content → Limit Adult Websites. Under Never Allow, add the betting sites you used.
What it misses: it's a list you type yourself, so new sites and the one you didn't think of get through. It only covers Safari and apps that use Apple's web view. If you set the Screen Time passcode yourself, you know it. Ask someone you trust to set it.
2. Self-exclusion (free)
National registers make licensed operators refuse your account: GAMSTOP in the UK, BetStop in Australia, state lists in the US. Find yours.
What it misses: unlicensed and offshore sites ignore it. It's about accounts, not the phone.
3. Your bank's gambling block (free)
Most banks can refuse gambling payments on your card, and make you wait before you can turn it off. Step-by-step for your bank.
What it misses: other cards, e-wallets, crypto, and sometimes bank transfers.
4. Free blockers
BetBlocker is a free, charity-run blocker with an iPhone app that blocks a large list of gambling sites for a period you choose.
What it misses: it depends on its list keeping up with new sites.
5. Paid blockers
Paid apps generally block more and harder to undo. Ours, You vs The House, blocks 700,000+ betting sites on every app and browser and adds new ones within minutes, shields betting apps, and lets you put someone you trust on your side: if you ever ask to turn a protection off, there's a cooling-off period and they're told. Gamban is another well-known option.
What paid blockers miss: they cost money, and like everything here, they're one layer, not a cure.
The setup that holds
No single tool is enough on its own, because each one has a gap. Together, the gaps close:
- Self-exclusion for the accounts.
- A bank block for the money.
- A blocker on the phone for the sites and apps.
- One person who knows, so turning any of it off isn't a quiet decision at midnight.
And for the in-person side: how many betting shops and casinos there are near you, and the registers that cover them.
Sources and further help
Updated 19 October 2026. Checked against the sources above. How we write these guides. You vs The House is a support tool, not medical advice. If you're struggling, a helpline or your doctor can help.