BetBlocker’s expanding footprint: demand, and innovation - Part 1
BetBlocker’s growing adoption across Africa and worldwide signals a rising need for accessible, anonymous responsible-gaming tools. In this interview with SiGMA News, Founder Duncan Garvie reflects on user growth, strategic evolution, and the organisation’s expanding influence on global iGaming safety.
Surging demand in Africa
As Kenya and South Africa surpass 10,000 active users each in 2025, BetBlocker sees a sharp rise in demand for harm-prevention tools.
SiGMA: Recent reports show Kenya and South Africa each passed 10,000 active users in 2025. What does this surge tell you about demand for safer-gaming tools in Africa?
Duncan: The gambling industry is exploding in Africa at the moment, but support for gambling harms isn’t keeping pace with the industry. Africa is one of the most underserved markets in the world right now in terms of support for vulnerable gamblers. And when we consider that poorer communities have been shown to have greater vulnerability to gambling harms, the rapidly growing industry, amongst economically poorer communities, where there’s no or little support available, creates a perfect storm.
BetBlocker is extremely proud of the work we do supporting the people of Africa. In many African nations, we are the only support available. And in the nations that have their own support agencies, those agencies are quickly embracing our free, anonymous-to-access blocking software. Passing these milestones has been very special, but we’re going to help so many more Africans in the years to come.
A quarter-million users and a rapidly evolving strategy
BetBlocker’s global milestone has reshaped its approach, pushing the organisation to expand teams and partnerships.
SiGMA: BetBlocker now has over a quarter of a million active users globally. How has that global reach shaped your strategy for iGaming markets?
Duncan: Shaped our strategy?! We’re still giddy from reaching this milestone. If you’d told me at the start of the year that we’d have supported so many people, I would have laughed. Things are moving so quickly right now that it’s impossible to know where the next 12 months will take us.
What this year has shown us is that there’s a massive demand for the support that BetBlocker provides. And given that every populated continent is represented in our top ten, the need for free, anonymous-to-access blocking software clearly crosses cultural divides.
Trying to take account of how quickly demand for BetBlocker is growing, we’re quickly expanding our user support team, whilst also looking to speak to essential stakeholders all over the world, to ensure that they’re aware of the work we’re doing and, wherever possible, signpost our support. I know we’ve only just passed a quarter of a million active users, but we’re only scratching the surface of the good that we could do.
Proactive protection through the scheduler tool
BetBlocker is widening its support by engaging users before they reach crisis points. Duncan Garvie expounds more on their new innovative tools that best coincide with current market demands.
SiGMA: You recently launched the “Scheduler” tool to allow users to plan their blocks ahead. What prompted you to shift from crisis management to proactive harm prevention?
Duncan: I wouldn’t call it a “shift” so much as “diversified”. We haven’t moved away from crisis management, and all the tools we’ve always offered to support people in crisis are there. This is a really important cohort of users that we would never want to reduce support for.
What the Scheduler tool does is expand our support, creating a tool that’s intended to engage people before they reach a place of crisis, empowering them to manage their gambling earlier in their journey, and to work to reduce the acceleration of harm for players that perhaps don’t yet realise that they are experiencing lower levels of gambling harm.
With the Scheduling tool, we’re expanding the audience that we’re supporting, not pivoting away from the users we’ve always supported.
Sustaining a free, anonymous service
Running a free global tool comes with financing and infrastructure challenges, but BetBlocker: Gambling Exclusion maintains its charitable approach.
SiGMA: How do you balance offering a totally free, anonymous service while maintaining the infrastructure needed to support hundreds of thousands of users?
Duncan: It’s tough. We chose the charitable model for BetBlocker because offering support freely and allowing users to access anonymously was the best structure to reach the community that needs our support, removing barriers that would result in many users not taking help if left in place. But this means that we have to constantly work to ensure that the sector knows how well we’re doing. Interview opportunities like this one, and where the trade press helps cover our announcements, make a huge difference!
Our model is unusual even amongst charities. Most charities put together a proposal and wait until they get funding to action the proposal. This approach guarantees financial security for the charity, but can delay the work getting done by years, or even mean it never happens at all.
BetBlocker took a different approach. From day one, we simply got to work and delivered support to the communities that need it. We then rely on evidencing the need for our support and the success of the project via our data to convince the right people of the value of supporting our continued work. These user milestones are critical to ensure we effectively communicate the vast benefits that BetBlocker delivers.
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