Answer
What happens to your betting account when you delete the app?
Deleting a betting app removes it from your phone and does nothing else. To close the account, you ask the operator. Under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (s.171, wording to be re-read) a licensee closes an account on your written request, or after 13 months without participation. Deleting the app is also not self-exclusion.
Editorial team · checked
Delete, close, exclude: three different acts
| Action | What it does | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Delete the app | Removes the app from the phone. Account, balance and history stay with the operator; operator help pages: Not checked. | You, on the phone |
| Close the account | Ends the account with the operator. | You write to the operator, or the licensee closes it after 13 months without participation (s.171) |
| Self-exclude | Blocks your betting under the operator's terms. Terms: Not checked. | You, with the operator; the national register is planned, not in force |
In short: only the operator can close your account.
How to close an account in writing
- Check the account first. Open your balance and open bets in the app. See your betting history.
- Write to the operator. Use the support channel on its help pages. Channels: Not checked.
- Say what you want. Ask for the account to be closed, and ask what happens to any balance.
- Keep the record. Save your request and the reply with their dates.
- Delete the app last. Do it only once the operator confirms.
In short: write first, delete afterwards.
If you want a break, not a closure
- Time-out or self-exclusion steps are in taking a break or self-excluding.
- The term is explained in self-exclusion.
- GRAI's Get Help page lists support lines. Gambling Awareness Trust: 1800 936 725, 24/7.
In short: a break and a closure are separate requests.
Common questions
Does deleting the app close my account?
No. It removes the app from the phone. Closing the account is a request to the operator.
Can I close my account without writing?
Our sources name a written request (s.171). Whether an operator also accepts closure inside the app is Not checked.
Is closing an account the same as self-exclusion?
No. Closure ends the account. Self-exclusion blocks betting under the operator's terms. The national exclusion register (ss.44-49) is planned and not in force.
How we checked
Sources: the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (s.171 on closure; s.173(4) on account information), GRAI Protection Tools and Get Help pages as read on 6 November 2026. Operator help pages on closure: Not checked for any operator.
What changed
7 November 2026: first version of this page.
Caveats
The s.171 wording and the 13-month rule are taken from our research summary and need a re-read of the Act text. We have no data on what an operator does with a balance after deletion.
18+ only. Free 24/7 support: 1800 936 725 · gamblingcare.ie. More on responsible gambling.
Keep going