If you want a free app that blocks gambling sites on iPhone and Android, install BetBlocker. It is run by a registered charity, blocks more than 384,000 gambling websites and around 1,900 apps, and lets you lock yourself out for any period from one day to five years. If you can spend about $42 a year, Gamban is the easiest paid blocker to live with, and one subscription covers all your devices. GamBlock is the heavy-duty choice for people who need maximum lockdown and will pay for it. Underneath any of them, free tools you already have (iOS Screen Time, DNS filtering such as NextDNS) add layers that make workarounds slower.
Zona Bet is an independent, non-commercial project: none of the links here are affiliate links and no vendor paid to be listed, which is also why the free options come first. Every price and feature below was checked against the vendors' own pages on September 1, 2026.
If gambling has put you in a financial or emotional crisis right now, blocking software is step two, not step one. Talk to someone today: find a free, confidential service in our directory of gambling helplines by country, or use findahelpline.com. If you are thinking about harming yourself, call your local emergency number.
How the main options compare (September 2026)
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Uninstall protection | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetBlocker | Free (charity-funded) | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Fire OS | Strong: a running restriction cannot be lifted until its timer ends | Everyone; the default first install |
| Gamban | $6.99/month or $41.99/year on the US App Store (£29.99/€29.99 a year direct); 7-day trial | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS | Strong while the license is active; removal requires contacting support | One paid subscription across every device, plus progress tracking |
| GamBlock | Windows from $134.95/year; non-Samsung Android $69.95 per 3 months; Apple devices $74.95 per 2 months | Windows, Android, iOS and macOS (configured via a Mac) | Strongest claims: the vendor says removal "cannot happen" and blocking survives a factory reset | High-risk, desktop-heavy use where cost is not the deciding factor |
| NextDNS | Free up to 300,000 DNS queries/month; Pro €19.90/year | Any device, or the whole home via your router | As strong as whoever holds the account and router passwords | A whole-household filter that covers every app and browser |
| Freedom | 7 free sessions; then $39.96/year or $99.50 lifetime | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Chromebook | Weak for this purpose: Locked Mode only protects active sessions | General distraction blocking; not gambling-specific |
| iOS Screen Time / Android tools | Free, built in | iPhone and iPad; Android | Moderate: as strong as whoever holds the passcode | A hardening layer around any of the tools above |
BetBlocker: the best free gambling blocker
BetBlocker is a Scottish registered charity (SC049565), funded by grants and donations, and it charges nothing: no subscription, no ads, no registration. As of September 2026 its database covers more than 384,000 gambling websites and about 1,900 apps, and it runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux and Amazon Fire devices.
The core feature is the restriction period. You pick anything from 1 day to 5 years, and once it starts, it does not stop early. On iPhone the blocking profile cannot be removed until the timer ends. On Android the app takes device-administrator rights, and getting rid of it early effectively means factory-resetting the phone. Blocking happens locally through an on-device VPN service; BetBlocker states that no browsing data is sent to external servers.
A calendar mode can also switch blocking on and off on a schedule: if your risky window is Friday night through Sunday, or payday week, you can pre-commit to exactly those hours.
Honest downsides: the interface is plain, and there is no recovery content or progress tracking. Neither changes the math. It costs nothing, works on more platforms than any paid rival, and its lock is real.
Gamban: the best paid option for most people
Gamban blocks tens of thousands of gambling sites and apps, and one license covers all your personal devices (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS). Through the US App Store it costs $6.99 a month or $41.99 a year; subscribing on gamban.com is cheaper at £29.99 or €29.99 a year, and both routes include a 7-day free trial. It also tracks how long you have stayed gamble-free and estimates the money saved, which many people find motivating in the first months.
Gamban has the strongest independent evidence base of the paid tools. In an evaluation commissioned by GambleAware, it blocked up to 99% of tested gambling sites and came out ahead of six competing products. For UK readers: the TalkBanStop partnership that gave Gamban away free ended on March 31, 2026. It now requires a subscription in England and Scotland, though Welsh residents still get it free.
While a license is active, Gamban cannot be paused or removed through normal means; on Android it holds device-administrator rights and on iOS it installs a system-level profile that the OS will not let you delete mid-contract. The main weakness is structural: when the subscription lapses, so does the protection. If you subscribe, pick annual billing so a 2 a.m. impulse cannot simply wait out a monthly renewal.
GamBlock: maximum lockdown at a maximum price
GamBlock is one of the oldest names in this niche and the most aggressive. Instead of relying only on domain lists, it analyzes page content heuristically, so brand-new casino domains get caught too. The vendor claims it cannot be circumvented with a VPN, blocks gambling over Tor, and survives (or blocks) factory resets; its own summary is that "removal cannot happen." Those are the company's claims, not independently audited results, but they match its reputation for being extremely hard to strip off a machine.
The price reflects it. On Windows, personal licenses run $134.95 (Gold), $141.95 (Platinum) or $190.95 (Titanium) per year. Mobile coverage is sold separately and awkwardly: $69.95 per three months on non-Samsung Android, and $74.95 per two months for Apple devices, which must be configured from a Mac. A year of full phone-plus-PC coverage can pass $400, roughly ten times Gamban's price.
GamBlock makes sense for a narrow group: people at serious risk, gambling mostly on a computer, who have tried lighter tools and beaten them. For a first blocker, start free.
Free tools already on your phone
iPhone and iPad: Screen Time
Screen Time's Content & Privacy Restrictions can limit adult websites (with a "never allow" list for specific sites you add), restrict apps by age rating, and block both installing and deleting apps. Two settings matter most for gambling:
- App age limit. Apple's 2025 ratings overhaul added 13+, 16+ and 18+ tiers, and real-money gambling falls under 18+; developers had to comply by January 31, 2026. Cap allowed apps at 16+ and casino apps cannot be installed at all.
- The passcode. Every restriction is only as strong as the Screen Time passcode. Have someone you trust set it and keep it; do not know it yourself.
Android: fewer built-in options
Android has no adult-facing equivalent of Screen Time's web filter. Digital Wellbeing offers Focus mode and per-site timers in Chrome, but these are nudges you can switch off in seconds, and Google's Family Link filtering is designed for children's accounts, not your own. On Android, the practical answer is a dedicated blocker (BetBlocker or Gamban) plus DNS filtering underneath it.
Blocking the whole house: DNS filtering
A DNS filter blocks gambling domains for every app and browser on a network, not just one device. NextDNS is the easiest to set up: its Parental Control section has a betting-and-gambling category you toggle on, and you can apply it per device or to your entire home by pointing your router at it. The free tier covers 300,000 DNS queries a month; the Pro plan is €19.90 a year.
Three caveats. When the free tier's quota runs out mid-month, NextDNS keeps resolving addresses but stops filtering, so a heavy household should pay for Pro. The gambling category catches well-known operators but users have reported individual betting sites slipping through, so test your own usual sites and add any survivors manually. And any VPN app routes around DNS filtering entirely, which is one more reason the passcode that controls app installs should live with someone else.
Freedom and general-purpose blockers
Freedom is a distraction blocker, not a gambling tool: you build your own blocklist and run timed sessions across Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Chromebook. Premium costs $39.96 a year or $99.50 one-time, with 7 free sessions to try. Its Locked Mode stops you from ending a session early, but nothing stops you from cancelling and uninstalling between sessions, and a self-maintained list will never keep up with thousands of new casino domains. Use it if you already own it and want an extra layer; do not make it your main defense.
The uninstall problem, honestly
Search "how to remove" plus any blocker's name and you will find step-by-step removal guides, some published by casino-affiliated sites that profit when you come back. Every tool on this page can be defeated by a determined person with enough time: a spare device, a friend's phone, a VPN, a new browser. That is not a reason to skip blockers. It is a reason to design for the moment of craving, when what stands between you and a deposit is measured in minutes of hassle.
Four things make removal genuinely hard:
- Pick timers you cannot undo. BetBlocker's restriction is irreversible once running. Set the length on a calm day; six months is a common starting point.
- Give the keys away. The Screen Time passcode, the NextDNS account password and the router admin login should belong to a person you trust, not to you.
- Pay annually. An active annual Gamban license cannot be switched off tonight; a monthly one lapses at the next renewal.
- Layer, so quitting means quitting four times. Device blocker, DNS filter, a gambling block at your bank, and formal self-exclusion in your country each fail independently. Breaking all four takes long enough for most urges to pass.
The evidence supports stacking. A Kantar evaluation of the UK's TalkBanStop scheme, published in June 2026, found that 68% of the surveyed users who combined blocking software, self-exclusion and counselor support said the combination made reducing their gambling "much easier" than any single tool.
Blockers buy you time, and urges are time-limited: unacted-on cravings typically peak and fade within 20 to 30 minutes. If a craving hits tonight, the delay is the intervention. Our guide to stopping a gambling urge at night covers what to do with those minutes.
A one-evening setup that holds
- Install BetBlocker on every device you own and start a restriction (15 minutes).
- On iPhone: have a trusted person set the Screen Time passcode, cap apps at 16+, turn on the adult-website filter (10 minutes).
- Create a free NextDNS account, enable the gambling category, point your phone and router at it, then test it against sites you actually used (15 minutes).
- Ask your bank to switch on its gambling block, and register for self-exclusion where you live; GamStop and blocking software do different jobs and you want both (20 minutes).
- Tell one person what you set up and who holds which password (5 minutes).
An hour of setup will not cure anything on its own. It changes the default from "gambling is one tap away" to "gambling takes half an hour of deliberate dismantling," and for many people that gap is where recovery gets room to start.