Self-exclusion in Georgia

How to put yourself on Georgia's self-exclusion list, what it covers, and what it does not.

1 of 12 things on this page could not be confirmed from an official source. They are marked, and each one says who to ask. We would rather leave a gap than fill it with a guess.

Programme: The Georgia Lottery Corporation (GLC) Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program - and it is narrower than its name suggests. The GLC defines it as covering online play only: voluntary self-exclusion is the process by which a player decides to remove themselves from online and mobile lottery play for a period of time (the GLC's own sentence is in the note). What it actually does is suspend your Georgia Lottery Players Club iHOPE account: 'You will not be able to access your GLC Players Club Account or GLC iHOPE Account; You will not be able to withdraw or deposit funds, or purchase and GLC lottery games or products using your iHOPE Account; You will not be able to enter any GLC second chance promotion.' Georgia has no casino or sportsbook self-exclusion because it has no legal casinos or sportsbooks.The GLC's definition of the programme is on its Play Responsibly page, not in the terms PDF cited for this field: 'Voluntary self-exclusion is the process by which a player makes the decision to remove themselves from online and mobile lottery play for a period of time.' (https://www.galottery.com/en-us/about-us/play-responsibly.html)galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
Covers online betting: Yes - this is the one thing it does cover. Self-excluding closes off online and mobile lottery play and your iHOPE account: 'You will not be able to access your iHOPE Account or play online or on the mobile app. You will not receive Georgia Lottery promotional emails.' Any balance left in the account is refunded by cheque as soon as feasible, and the GLC warns that you should minimise the funds in there first because remaining funds may be forfeited - see the note for both sentences and where they appear.Two of the sentences behind this answer are not on the account page cited for this field. The GLC's Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program terms (https://www.galottery.com/content/dam/portal/pdfs/about-us/Voluntary_Self-Exclusion_Program.pdf) say 'The GLC will refund any balance in the iHOPE Account by check as soon as feasible' and 'You acknowledge that any funds remaining in your iHOPE Account may be forfeited.' The phrase 'online and mobile lottery play' is the GLC's too, from its Play Responsibly page (https://www.galottery.com/en-us/about-us/play-responsibly.html).galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
Covers casinos and shops: No - and the GLC says so in terms, which makes this the most important sentence on the page. You agree 'that you will not seek to hold GLC liable in any way should you continue to play GLC games at any retailer in the State of Georgia despite your Self-Exclusion Request under the GLC Voluntary Self Exclusion Program Agreement; accordingly, you acknowledge that the playing of GLC games at retailer locations is beyond the scope of the GLC Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program.' So after you self-exclude you can still walk into any shop in Georgia and buy tickets and scratchcards. Nothing stops that.galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
Covers the lottery: Only the online and mobile half of it. Lottery play through your iHOPE account, the website and the app is blocked; lottery play over the counter at a retailer is expressly outside the programme. Since the Georgia Lottery is the only legal commercial gambling in the state, that split is the whole picture: the state scheme stops the channel you use from a phone and leaves the channel you use from a shop entirely open.galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
How long you can choose: Not confirmed. The Georgia Lottery contradicts itself on this, and we will not pick a winner. Its self-exclusion web page (https://www.galottery.com/content/portal/en/myaccount/self-exclusion.html) offers six options: '3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years'. Its own Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program terms PDF (https://www.galottery.com/content/dam/portal/pdfs/about-us/Voluntary_Self-Exclusion_Program.pdf) - the document you must read and agree to before enrolling - offers four, and they do not match: 'You may self-exclude or suspend your iHOPE Account for a specific period of time, including 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, or one year.' The PDF has a nine-month option the web page does not, and the web page has the two, five and ten year options the PDF lacks entirely. The GLC's Play Responsibly page lists the same six as the web page. Because the choice is irreversible once made, the length matters more here than almost anywhere, so do not rely on either list: ring the Player Information Hotline on 1-800-GA-LUCKY (1-800-425-8259) and confirm what terms are actually available before you start, and check the dropdown you are shown against what you were told. Check with Georgia Lottery Corporation (GLC). Player Information Hotline 1-800-GA-LUCKY (1-800-425-8259), which is also the number for both enrolling in and asking to come off self-exclusion..galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
Can it be undone: No. The GLC is unambiguous in both places: 'Once you make this selection, it cannot be reversed', and the web page says the same in its own words - see the note. You also cannot route around it with a fresh sign-up, because your Social Security number 'is checked against those already associated with active or closed Accounts as part of the Know Your Customer process', and 'Any attempt at accessing your Account(s) or creating a new Players Club Account or iHOPE Account while your Account(s) are suspended will be denied.'The web page's version of the same point is at https://www.galottery.com/content/portal/en/myaccount/self-exclusion.html - 'Once you self-exclude, Georgia Lottery Corporation (GLC) cannot reverse the process for any reason and you will not be able to apply for a new account.'galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
What happens when it ends: It does not end by itself - and if you do nothing, it lasts indefinitely. The GLC: 'At the end of your selected time period for self-exclusion or suspending your iHOPE Account, you will not be able to access your iHOPE Account without taking further action. Both your GLC Players Club Account and GLC iHOPE Account will remain suspended unless and until you choose to reinstate, which you may only do once the time period selected has expired. If the time period of your exclusion has expired, but you do not wish to reinstate your Account(s), your Accounts(s) will remain suspended indefinitely.' To come back you must ring 1-800-GA-LUCKY and ask; the GLC then runs a review 'expected to take approximately 10 business days, allowing GLC representatives to conduct a thorough evaluation as well as allowing the player time to reflect on the terms of their self-exclusion and reinstatement'.This is the reassuring end of the scale: expiry of the term does not re-open the account, a positive request does, and there is a built-in ten working day cooling-off period before you can play again. Pair that with the fact that nothing stops retail purchases, and Georgia's scheme is best understood as a durable block on one channel rather than a pause on your gambling.galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026
How you sign up: Online through your own account, or by telephone - no notary, no photograph, no appointment. The GLC: 'If you want to self-exclude or suspend your GLC Players Club iHOPE Account and online purchasing, you may go to your iHOPE Account profile page and follow the instructions.' On the self-exclusion page you select the duration from a dropdown and click Proceed. Alternatively you can enrol by telephone on the Player Information Hotline, 1-800-GA-LUCKY (1-800-425-8259) - see the note. Before you finish, move any money out of the account - the GLC says 'It is your responsibility to minimize the funds remaining in your iHOPE Account prior to self-excluding', and warns remaining funds may be forfeited.The telephone route is set out on the GLC's Play Responsibly page rather than in the terms PDF cited for this field: 'To request self-exclusion, please call the Player Information Hotline at 1-800-GA-LUCKY (1-800-425-8259).' (https://www.galottery.com/en-us/about-us/play-responsibly.html) The duration dropdown and the Proceed button are on the account page at https://www.galottery.com/content/portal/en/myaccount/self-exclusion.html.galottery.com, checked 3 October 2026

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Worth knowing before you start

Two things define Georgia. The first is that the only self-exclusion in the state is the Lottery's, and it stops online play while expressly leaving shop purchases alone - the GLC tells you outright that playing GLC games at retailer locations is beyond the scope of the programme. Anyone who self-excludes believing they have stopped their lottery gambling, when most of it happens at a convenience store counter, has achieved very little. If retail is where your gambling lives, this programme is not the tool; bank and card-level gambling blocks, cash controls and blocking software will do more. The second is that there is nothing else to join, because Georgia has no casinos, no sportsbooks and no racetracks to be excluded from. The state constitution prohibits them: 'Except as herein specifically provided in this Paragraph VIII, all lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, and all forms of pari-mutuel betting and casino gambling are hereby prohibited; and this prohibition shall be enforced by penal laws', with carve-outs only for a state-run lottery, nonprofit bingo and raffles by nonprofit organisations. So the absence of a casino self-exclusion list in Georgia is not a gap in this page - there are no legal casinos. If you gamble online with offshore sites, no Georgia scheme reaches them at all, and operator closures plus bank blocks are the only route. Before you enrol, three practical cautions from the GLC's own terms. Take your money out first, because remaining funds may be forfeited, and a balance left untouched for sixty consecutive months may fall under Georgia's unclaimed property provisions. You forfeit any second-chance promotion entries you are holding. And the GLC will stop sending you marketing but will not unfollow its social media accounts for you - it says it is unable to perform this function, so you must do that yourself.

Done? The rest of the hour: blockers, a bank block, closing the accounts, telling one person.

Every fact on this page was read from an official source and dated. The oldest of them was checked on 3 October 2026. Tell us if something here is wrong.