Stay in control
Responsible Gaming
Gambling should be an occasional bit of entertainment you can comfortably afford. When it stops being that, there are free tools and free people ready to help — today, confidentially, with no judgement.
Four rules worth keeping
Set the figure first
Decide what an evening is worth before you deposit, and set that number as a deposit limit. Deciding while you are ahead — or behind — never works as well.
Never chase
A loss is the price of the entertainment, not a debt to recover. Chasing is the single clearest warning sign that something has changed.
Watch the clock
Turn on reality checks so the account interrupts you every 30 or 60 minutes. Time slips far faster than money does.
Keep it separate
Never gamble with money set aside for rent, bills, food or credit repayments. Never borrow to gamble. Credit cards are banned for gambling in Great Britain for exactly this reason.
Warning signs
Any of these is worth taking seriously, and several together is a reason to act now.
- Depositing more than you planned, more often than you planned
- Trying to win back what you lost
- Hiding how much you gamble from family or friends
- Borrowing money, selling things, or using bill money to fund an account
- Feeling anxious, low or irritable when you are not gambling
- Missing work, study, sleep or time with people because of it
- Thinking about the next session while doing something else
BeGambleAware publishes a short, free self-assessment that takes about two minutes and gives you an honest answer.
The tools every UK licensee must give you
These are licence conditions, not favours. Both brands we review provide all of them in the account area, without you needing to contact support:
- Deposit limits — daily, weekly or monthly. Decreases apply immediately; increases require a cooling-off period.
- Loss and stake limits — caps on what can be lost or staked in a period.
- Reality checks — an on-screen interruption at an interval you set.
- Time-out — a short break of 24 hours up to six weeks.
- Self-exclusion — a minimum of six months, and the account cannot simply be reopened on request.
- Account closure — permanent, on request.
GAMSTOP: the national option
GAMSTOP is free and covers every operator licensed for the British market at once. Register with your name, date of birth, address, email and mobile, choose six months, one year or five years, and access is blocked across the board. It cannot be cancelled early. Both brands reviewed on this website are registered with GAMSTOP.
Blocking software and bank blocks
Gamban and BetBlocker block gambling websites at the device level. Most UK banks — including Monzo, Starling, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, HSBC and Santander — offer a free gambling block on card payments inside their app, usually with a cooling-off period before it can be removed. Used together with GAMSTOP, that is a genuinely strong wall.
Where to get support
BeGambleAware
National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, free and open 24 hours. Advice, self-assessment and referral to local treatment.
begambleaware.org
GamCare
Live chat, one-to-one and group support, plus help for the family and friends of someone affected.
gamcare.org.uk
Gamblers Anonymous
Free peer support meetings across the UK, in person and online, run by people who have been through it.
gamblersanonymous.org.uk
GAMSTOP
Free national self-exclusion from every British-licensed operator, for six months, one year or five years.
gamstop.co.uk
GamFam & Gam-Anon
Support written for partners, parents and children of someone whose gambling has become harmful.
NHS clinics
The NHS runs specialist gambling clinics across England. Your GP can refer you, and you can also self-refer.
Protecting under-18s
Gambling under the age of 18 is illegal in Great Britain. If a young person shares your device, install filtering software such as Net Nanny or the parental controls built into your operating system, keep card details out of the browser, and never leave a gambling account signed in.
If you need help now
Call the National Gambling Helpline free on 0808 8020 133, any hour of the day. You do not need to have a diagnosis, a plan, or the right words. You just need to call.