The Gambling Commission in the United Kingdom will be putting in place new licensing conditions in 2016, which will require operators to participate in a multi-operator self-exclusion plan. This will allow customers to be able to self-exclude themselves from gambling activities at UK gambling facilities. To get the ball rolling, a new national program has been created by the National Casino Forum, which is a UK gambling trade association.

The new program is titled SENSE which stands for Self-Enrolment National Self-Exclusion. The new tool will be used by land based casino partners to help players exclude themselves from gaming whenever they feel the need. The goal of SENSE is to allow customers to voluntarily exclude themselves from participating in land based casino gaming. The new program is mandatory for any operator that is a member of NCF.

Once a customer enrolls in the program for the very first time, the program will share the request for exclusion with all land-based casinos that participate in the program. The minimum exclusion time frame is six months.

SENSE was designed to work simply, with customers able to sign up quickly. When signing up, an operator will read the terms and conditions of the program to the customer and then the individual will sign the enrolment form which is done electronically. A photo will be taken of the customer and then uploaded along with the enrolment form to the system.

Once enrolled, every participating casino will be alerted of the new information on the individual. Any memberships or marketing material will cease to be sent to the customer. If a self-excluded patron tries to access a casino, the operator will be alerted by the system as well as nearby facilities. Once six months has passed, the individual can then be removed from the list, but only upon request.

The UK Gambling Commission commented on the new program by stating they see SENSE as a step forward in providing greater protection for players who need help in managing their gambling.