Responsible gambling

Last updated: 2026-11-06T14:46:46+00:00

Over a longer period, gambling costs money. The whole operation runs on the arithmetic of the house edge, which is no warning label and cannot be moved by any bonus, filter or strategy. This is the basis for everything below.

Decide before you start

Choose your acceptable loss amount ahead of that first deposit, rather than midway through a losing run. Choosing a limit while calm means it lasts; choosing one while chasing losses means it fails. What you spend should be seen as entertainment's cost, never as an investment due to come back.

The tools in your account

• Deposit limit — caps what you are able to pay in, whether that is measured by day, week or month.
• Loss limit — the maximum net loss allowed within a set period.
• Session reminder — a prompt showing how long you have been playing.
• Time-out — restricts account access for a period you decide on.
• Self-exclusion — shuts the account for a lengthier term than a time-out.

Drop a limit and it takes hold instantly. Raising a limit is built to be slow, so it cannot vanish just when it is needed most.

Warning signs

Look out for three tendencies before they take hold: gambling with funds intended for other purposes, trying to claw back a loss, and giving friends or family a smaller picture of the time and money actually spent. Any one of them alone means little. It is the three together that count.

Where to get help

We have no link to any of these organisations.

• NCMH — 1553, free and confidential.
• A doctor or counsellor — handles a gambling problem in the same confidential way as any other addiction.
• Gamban — blocks gambling websites on whichever devices you install it on.

Under-age gambling

Accounts are for adults aged 21+ and over. Where a device is shared, parental controls plus keeping login details hidden are worth using. The account is shut and winnings voided if a minor opened it.