Guide
How to Block Gambling Sites and Apps on iPhone
Screen Time blocks betting apps and sites for free. Self exclusion lists cover licensed operators. Neither stops you from typing your own passcode back in.
iPhone's Screen Time tool blocks betting apps and gambling sites for free by combining an age rating cap with a Never Allow website list. It is a different, and complementary, protection from a self exclusion program like GamStop, and it fails the same way every free lock does: you know the passcode, so you can turn it off yourself.
The free way: Screen Time for betting apps and sites
Open Settings, tap Screen Time, turn it on, choose This is My iPhone. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch it on. Tap Content Restrictions, then Apps, and set the age rating cap to 12+. Nearly every sportsbook, casino, and betting app in the App Store is rated 17+ or 18+, so this single setting hides the whole category at once.
Then go to Web Content, tap Limit Adult Websites, and under Never Allow add every book, casino, and prediction market you actually use. Last, set iTunes & App Store Purchases, Installing Apps to Don't Allow, so a new app cannot replace the one you just hid.
This is not the same as self exclusion
A state self exclusion list or a program like GamStop stops licensed operators from taking your action. It does not stop your phone from opening the app or the site in the first place, and it does nothing about an unlicensed offshore book or a friend's Venmo. Screen Time works the other direction: it stops your device from reaching any of it, licensed or not. The two are not competing tools. Do both if you can.
Where the free Screen Time setup breaks is the same place it always breaks: you are the one who set the passcode, so at the moment the game starts and the urge is strongest, you can type it back in and undo everything above in under thirty seconds.
- Self exclusion lists: cover licensed operators only, not your phone.
- Deleting the app: the next one is a fresh download away, no waiting period.
- Bank card blocks: cash and crypto routes around them entirely.
A passcode you never see, for the moment the game starts
Get0 sets up the exact Screen Time restriction above, then holds the passcode for you. We speak the digits once, out loud, and you type what you hear without ever seeing them. The countdown starts the moment you lock, for the length you picked in advance: 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, and the code is emailed automatically when it hits zero.
Nothing installs on the phone. It costs $7 a month, $77 a year, or $177 once, billed as Zero Software on your statement, and it is meant to sit alongside a self exclusion list, not replace one.
How much this actually gets searched
Real US search volume, DataForSEO, checked 2026-09-05. This is a smaller cluster than porn or general app blocking, and it competes against BetBlocker, a free charity-run blocker already bundled into some sportsbook apps, so real winnable demand here is modest.
| Term | US searches/mo |
|---|---|
| how to block gambling sites on iphone | 70 |
| gambling cluster, all terms | 1,310 |
Questions people actually ask
Should I use this instead of GamStop or a state self exclusion program?
No, use both. Self exclusion programs stop licensed operators from taking your money. This stops your phone from reaching them, or anything else, at all.
Can I get the passcode early if I ask?
No. The clock starts the moment you lock and the passcode is emailed when it hits zero. There is no early release, not for support, not for an emergency.
What if I lose the phone or reset it mid cool off?
The restriction lives on that device, so it goes with it. Your countdown is tied to your account, not the phone, so it keeps running on its own. Sign in and lock yourself out again on the new one if you want a fresh restriction there too.
What about a second phone bought specifically to get around this?
That is a decision made in daylight, with time to think it through. Get0 is built to remove the impulsive 2am version of that decision, not every possible one.
Does the rating cap block anything else I need?
Yes, potentially. A 12+ cap hides every app rated above it, not only gambling apps. Check what else you use before setting it, or use the Never Allow list alone for a narrower block.