Self-exclusion: how to stop, and how far it reaches
Self-exclusion is the most effective single measure available to someone who wants to stop gambling, and Denmark operates one of the more robust systems in Europe. This page explains how it works in practical terms, what happens to money and accounts when it takes effect, and precisely where its authority ends. That last point is the one most commercial pages omit.
ROFUS in outline
ROFUS stands for Register Over Frivilligt Udelukkede Spillere, the register of voluntarily excluded players. It is operated by Spillemyndigheden, the Danish gambling authority, and it is national rather than tied to any individual company. Registration is done with MitID, which is what makes it fast and difficult to circumvent: identity is established once, and every operator inside the Danish licence system is required to check the register.
Four periods are available. Twenty-four hours works as a hard stop on a single evening. One month interrupts a habit. Three months gives enough distance for the pattern to break properly. Permanent exclusion is what it says, and reversing it requires a deliberate application rather than a moment of impulse — which is exactly the property that makes it valuable.
What happens to accounts and money
An operator inside the Danish system must refuse access once the exclusion is active. Any balance remaining on the account is normally paid out to the player rather than confiscated, subject to the usual verification requirements, and marketing communications must stop. The account is not deleted, it is closed to play, which means bonuses in progress generally lapse and cannot be resumed later.
Anyone with a pending payout at the moment of registration should complete verification first, since a payout still requires the same identity checks as before. Details of that process are on the withdrawal page.
The boundary that matters
ROFUS binds operators holding a Danish licence. It does not bind platforms licensed elsewhere, and that means their login pages will continue to open normally after registration. For a person who plays on international sites, national exclusion alone is not sufficient protection, and pretending otherwise would be a serious disservice.
The workable additions are three. Close each offshore account individually, which most operators will do on request and which is usually irreversible. Install blocking software on your devices, so that the sites become unreachable rather than merely unadvisable. And speak to StopSpillet, the free anonymous counselling service under Spillemyndigheden, or to Center for Ludomani for support of a more clinical kind. None of these requires a diagnosis or a crisis.
| Measure | Reach | Reversible |
|---|---|---|
| ROFUS 24 hours | All Danish-licensed operators | Ends automatically |
| ROFUS 1 month | All Danish-licensed operators | Ends automatically |
| ROFUS 3 months | All Danish-licensed operators | Ends automatically |
| ROFUS permanent | All Danish-licensed operators | Only by application |
| Account closure | One operator | Usually not |
| Cooling-off | One operator | Ends automatically |
| Device blocking software | The device it is installed on | Depends on the tool |
If you are reading this for someone else
Relatives can contact StopSpillet as well, and it is worth knowing that. You cannot register another adult with ROFUS on their behalf, but you can talk to a counsellor about how to approach the conversation and about protecting a shared household economy. Gambling problems are sustained by secrecy, and the point at which someone else knows is usually the point at which they start to become manageable. Further context is on the responsible gambling page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I register with ROFUS?
Through the service operated by Spillemyndigheden, using MitID to confirm who you are. The registration itself takes a few minutes and the period is chosen at that point: 24 hours, one month, three months or permanent. Nothing has to be arranged with any individual operator, because the register applies across the whole Danish licence system at once.
Can a permanent exclusion be undone?
Not immediately, and that is the point of choosing it. Permanent registration is designed to resist a change of mind on a difficult evening, and lifting it requires a deliberate application rather than a click. Anyone who wants a pause instead of a decision should choose one of the shorter periods.
What if I play at operators outside Denmark?
ROFUS will not reach them. National exclusion binds operators holding a Danish licence, and a platform licensed elsewhere is not covered, so its login page still opens. In that situation the available measures are account closure at each operator individually, blocking software on your devices, and support from StopSpillet or Center for Ludomani.
Is a cooling-off period different from exclusion?
Yes. A cooling-off period is a short pause offered inside a single account, typically from a day to a few weeks, and it ends automatically. Self-exclusion is longer, harder to reverse and, in the case of ROFUS, applies across every Danish-licensed operator at once rather than to one account.