Responsible Gambling
Gambling should cost you what a night out costs. If it has started costing more, help is free, confidential and available right now.
If you need to talk to someone immediately, the international support services listed below are free and, in most regions, open 24 hours a day. You do not need a diagnosis to reach out.
Warning signs
- Betting more than you planned, or more than you can comfortably lose.
- Chasing losses with bigger stakes to get back to even.
- Gambling with money set aside for rent, bills, food or credit repayments.
- Borrowing to gamble, or hiding how much you have spent.
- Lying to family about time or money spent.
- Gambling to escape stress, anxiety or low mood rather than for entertainment.
- Feeling irritable or restless when you try to cut down.
One of these on its own is worth noticing. Several together is worth acting on.
Tools every casino must give you
These exist at every licensed operator, including all the ones we list. If you cannot find them, that is itself a reason to leave.
- Deposit limits. Daily, weekly or monthly. Set them before a session, not after a bad one. Increases are usually delayed by design.
- Loss and wager limits. Caps on what you can lose or stake in a period.
- Session time limits and reality checks. Periodic reminders of elapsed time and net position.
- Time out. A short cooling-off period, typically 24 hours to six weeks.
- Self-exclusion. A longer lock, six months upward, that cannot be reversed on impulse.
Self-exclusion and support services
| Where you are | Service |
|---|---|
| Worldwide (online) | Gambling Therapy, free multilingual online support and live chat |
| Worldwide | Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon, in-person and online meetings |
| United Kingdom | GamCare National Gambling Helpline, free and confidential |
| United States | National Council on Problem Gambling helpline, 24 hours |
| Australia | Gambling Help Online, free 24-hour counselling |
| Elsewhere | Your national health service or a licensed problem-gambling charity in your country |
A self-exclusion registered with one scheme applies only to that scheme. Offshore operators run their own separate systems, so if you exclude yourself you need to do it with each operator you hold an account with, as well as through any national programme available where you live.
Blocking software
Gamban, BetBlocker and GamBlock block gambling sites across your devices. BetBlocker is free. These are useful alongside self-exclusion because they cover operators you have not registered with.
Support organisations
- Gamblers Anonymous runs in-person and online meetings in most countries.
- Gam-Anon supports family members affected by someone else's gambling.
- Gambling Therapy offers free online support internationally.
- Credit counselling services in most countries can help with gambling debt specifically.
A note on the maths
Every game in every casino has a house edge. Over enough hands the house wins, which is what the edge is for. No betting system changes it, no game is due, and a losing streak does not make a win more likely. If you are playing to recover money, the maths is working against you at exactly the moment you most need it not to be.