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Strictly 18+Responsible Gaming
Gambling should cost you what a night out costs you, and nothing more. Here is how to keep it that way — and where to get free help if it has stopped being that.
Need help right now? The National Gambling Helpline is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year: 0808 8020 133. You do not need to be in crisis to call, and you do not have to give your name.
Six controls every UK-licensed brand must give you
These are not favours. Under Gambling Commission licence conditions, operators are required to make these available and to act on them. Set them on day one, before you deposit — the moment to decide your ceiling is while you are calm.
Deposit limits
Cap what you can pay in per day, week or month. A reduction applies straight away; an increase must survive a cooling-off period before it takes effect.
Loss limits
Set a ceiling on net losses over a chosen window. Unlike a deposit cap, this accounts for money you have won back and then staked again.
Reality checks
A recurring on-screen reminder of how long a session has lasted and what it has cost. Set it to 15 or 30 minutes — long intervals defeat the purpose.
Time-outs
A short cooling-off period, typically 24 hours to six weeks, that locks your account without closing it. Useful before it becomes a bigger problem.
Self-exclusion
A minimum six-month block with a single operator, which cannot be lifted early. Every UKGC licensee is required to offer it.
GamStop — the national scheme
One free registration blocks you across every Gambling Commission licensed operator for six months, one year or five years. This is the strongest tool available.
Self-exclude nationally with GamStop
GamStop is the UK's free national self-exclusion scheme. One registration blocks you from every operator licensed by the Gambling Commission — not just one brand, all of them — for a minimum of six months, one year or five years.
It takes a few minutes and costs nothing. It cannot be lifted early, which is the point: the decision you make today cannot be undone by the version of you that wants to chase a loss next week. Blocking software on your devices and a gambling block from your bank are worth adding alongside it.
Register with GamStop- ▸Wagering more than you can comfortably afford to lose
- ▸Chasing losses in the hope of winning them back
- ▸Borrowing money, or selling possessions, to fund a session
- ▸Hiding how much time or money is going into it
- ▸Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut down
- ▸Missing work, study or family commitments because of it
If more than one of these is familiar, talk to someone today. Free, confidential help is a phone call away and nobody will judge you for making it.
Eight rules worth keeping
1. Decide the number before you start
Set a figure you would be entirely comfortable losing, set it as a deposit limit, and treat it as spent the moment you deposit it. A limit you have written into the account is worth more than a limit you have in your head.
2. Never chase a loss
Chasing is the single most reliable route from entertainment to harm. A loss is not owed back to you, and the next round does not know what the last one did.
3. Never borrow to gamble
Not from a credit card, not from an overdraft, not from a friend, not from a short-term lender. Credit card deposits have been banned for UK gambling since April 2020 for exactly this reason.
4. Watch the clock, not just the balance
Time disappears faster than money. Set a reality check at 15 or 30 minutes so a session cannot quietly become an evening.
5. Do not gamble to fix something
Boredom, stress, grief and debt are all poor reasons to open an account. Gambling is entertainment with a cost — it is not income, and it is not a coping strategy.
6. Do not gamble impaired
Alcohol, exhaustion and anger all make the same thing happen: the limit you set stops feeling real. Stop the session instead of overriding the limit.
7. Keep it in the open
Hiding time or money spent is one of the earliest warning signs. If you would not be comfortable telling someone close to you exactly what you staked this month, that is worth paying attention to.
8. Take a break before you need one
A 24-hour time-out costs nothing and proves something useful: that you can stop. If taking one feels difficult, take a longer one.
Gambling is 18+ by law
It is a criminal offence in the United Kingdom for an operator to accept a wager from anyone under 18, and every UKGC licensee must verify age before a deposit is accepted. This website is intended only for adults aged 18 or over.
If a child or young person uses a device you share, install filtering software and keep payment details out of stored browser profiles. Free and paid options include:
- Gamban — blocks gambling websites and applications across devices.
- GamBlock — device-level blocking software.
- BetBlocker — a free, registered-charity blocking tool.
- Most UK banks now offer a free gambling block that can be switched on in the banking application.
If you are worried about a young person, GamCare and BeGambleAware both provide free guidance for parents and carers.
Remember The odds always favour the operator over time — that is how a casino exists at all. Treat any money staked as the price of the entertainment, not as an investment, and stop when the entertainment stops. 0808 8020 133 is free, 24/7.