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Gambling costs money. Casino house edges, poker rake and betting prices work differently. None makes gambling a dependable source of income, and skill does not remove the risk of losing what you stake. Treat anything you stake as the cost of the entertainment, not as an investment.
Two things follow from that:
- Only stake what you would be content to lose entirely.
- Never borrow to gamble, and never gamble to recover a loss. Chasing is the single most reliable route from an expensive evening to a serious problem.
Signs worth taking seriously
Gambling stops being recreational gradually rather than suddenly. The things people notice first, usually in hindsight:
- Staking more than intended, or more often than intended.
- Gambling to win back losses.
- Hiding the amount, the time, or the fact of it from people close to you.
- Borrowing, selling things, or using money meant for something else.
- Restlessness or irritability when trying to cut down.
- Continuing after it has already damaged a relationship, a job or your finances.
Recognising one of these is not a diagnosis. It is a reason to use the controls below, and a reason to talk to someone who does this for a living.
The controls that exist
Most licensed operators offer these, and in many markets they are required to. Their usefulness varies a great deal:
- Deposit limits. Restrict money entering an account. The available periods, delays and rules depend on the country and operator. A deposit limit does not stop an existing balance being lost.
- Loss and stake limits. Useful, but they act after the money is in.
- Reality checks and session timers. A prompt showing elapsed time and net position. Easily dismissed, but it turns an unmeasured stretch into a number.
- Time-outs. A temporary break whose available periods and conditions depend on the operator and country.
- Self-exclusion. A long, binding closure of the account.
Outside the gambling industry: many banks offer a gambling block on card transactions, often with a delay before it can be lifted, and blocking software can prevent access at the device level.
National self-exclusion registers
National self-exclusion schemes have different coverage. Use the official scheme to check which products, operators and premises it covers:
- GAMSTOP Online, Great Britain. Check the official service for coverage and available exclusion periods.
- Cruks, the Netherlands. Covers licensed online gambling, gaming arcades and Holland Casino; it is not a blanket block on every lottery product.
- Spelpaus, Sweden. Read the official scope and exclusion periods before registering.
An exclusion scheme is not a block on the whole internet. Check its scope and consider additional device or bank controls. A site advertising a way around self-exclusion is not a substitute for the protection you requested.
Support organisations
Use an official support service for your country. Its own website has current contact details and opening hours.
GamCare support and its international support directory provide starting points for finding help.
If you are worried about someone else
Support services can also advise people worried about someone else. Check the service's own information about help for family and friends.
Under-age gambling
The minimum age shown on this site is the higher of our site-wide minimum and the operator's own requirement. Gambling below the legal age in your country is unlawful and a licensing failure for the operator. Parental control software can block gambling sites at the device level; the support organisations above can advise on the options.