Stay in Control: Responsible Gambling Tools and Help
A limit only works if it was set before the losing streak started.
Responsible gambling starts with your own limit, set before you bet, and with asking for help early.
18+ only: you must be 18 or older, or the legal age where you live if that is higher. Pick an amount you can lose without it changing your month, and keep to it whatever limits a bookmaker puts on your account. Warning signs include chasing losses, hiding your betting and feeling you cannot stop. The help section below lists helplines by country, each with what its source says about it.
Your limit, not the bookmaker's
This site writes a lot about bookmaker limits, the capped stakes and restricted accounts behind why bookmakers limit accounts. Those are the bookmaker's rules. Whether a bookmaker lets you stake 5 or 5,000, only a number you set yourself protects your budget.
Never set a limit? Too late? Not yet: you can set one today. We would fix the number before the first bet of the week. Pick it after a bad Saturday and it tends to creep up, because the figure that feels right then is the one that gets you back to even.
Pick an amount you can lose
Look at what is left after rent, bills and savings.
Turn it into one number per week
If your amount is 160 over four weeks, that is 40 a week: 160 divided by 4. If it goes in one evening, that week's betting is over.
Put the number where it is enforced
Set a deposit limit or a pause in the operator's own tools if it has them, or put only that amount on the account. The Malta Gaming Authority describes deposit limits as limits on the amount of money that can be deposited within a set timeframe, usually daily, weekly or monthly.
Leave it alone after a bad night
Do not raise the number to win the money back.
What are the warning signs that betting is slipping?
GambleAware in Great Britain, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) in the United States and ConnexOntario in Ontario each publish a list of warning signs. These come from those lists, with the source beside each.
- Spending more time or money on betting than you planned or can afford, and finding it hard to stop or cut back (GambleAware, ConnexOntario).
- Needing to bet more money, and more often (NCPG).
- Chasing losses: betting to win back money you have lost. GambleAware says this often leads to bigger losses (GambleAware, NCPG, ConnexOntario).
- Feeling you have little or no control over your betting (GambleAware, NCPG, ConnexOntario).
- Feeling guilty, anxious or irritable because of betting, or restless when you try to cut down (GambleAware, NCPG).
- Thinking about betting all the time (GambleAware, NCPG).
- Hiding your betting or lying about it (GambleAware, ConnexOntario).
- Borrowing money or going into debt because of betting (ConnexOntario), or carrying on despite the damage it does (NCPG).
NCPG says neither the amount of money lost or won nor how often someone gambles decides whether gambling is a problem. It says gambling becomes a problem when it interferes with relationships, work, health or other areas of life.
If you want to check where you stand, self-assessment tools are published by GambleAware in Great Britain, the National Council on Problem Gambling in the United States, Gambling Therapy, the Malta Gaming Authority and Gamblers Anonymous.
Stop betting today, and do not try to win the money back. Talk to someone, and use one of the services below.
Who to call, wherever you are
Find your country or region in the table. This page is information, not medical advice, and it does not replace professional help.
| Where | Organisation | Contact | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | National Gambling Helpline | 1800 858 858 | The Australian Government's BetStop website says free and confidential support is available on it 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and that the Gambling Help Online website offers free 24/7 chat and email counselling. |
| England and Scotland | GamCare, National Gambling Helpline | 0808 8020 133 | The UK Gambling Commission lists it as free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. GambleAware says the helpline also has a live chat, delivered by GamCare and only available to people in England and Scotland. |
| Global, online | Gambling Therapy | No phone number listed. Email help@gordonmoody.org.uk, or see its contact page. | Describes itself as a free, global online service offering practical advice and emotional support to anyone affected by gambling. Its support forums are described as available 24/7. |
| Ireland | GamblingCare.ie, National Helpline | 1800 936 725 | GamblingCare.ie says its lines are open 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year. GamblingCare is run by the Gambling Awareness Trust, which says it is wholly funded by donations from the online and retail betting and gaming industry in Ireland. |
| New Zealand | Gambling Helpline | 0800 654 655, text 8006 | Describes itself as the national freephone support service for people affected by gambling and a 24 hour free service. |
| New Zealand | Problem Gambling Foundation | 0800 664 262, text 5819 | Offers free and confidential support for anyone affected by gambling. It says its team is available from 8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. |
| Ontario, Canada | ConnexOntario | 1-866-531-2600, text CONNEX to 247247 | Says it offers a free, confidential information and referral service for mental health, addiction and problem gambling. It says you can reach it any time, day or night, 365 days a year. Standard data and text rates may apply. |
| South Africa | South African Responsible Gambling Foundation | 0800 006 008 | A toll-free counselling line, which the foundation says operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with counselling free of charge. |
| United States | National Council on Problem Gambling, National Problem Gambling Helpline | 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) | Says the helpline offers call, text and chat services 24/7/365 and that no payment or insurance information is required. It says it is not a crisis line: in an emergency, call 911 or 988. |
| Wales | NHS Wales helpline | 0808 2819 265 | The UK Gambling Commission lists it as free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
If your country is not listed, look for its national service, or start with Gambling Therapy, which describes itself as a global online service. The rows run alphabetically by place; the order ranks nothing. Numbers change, so check the organisation's own website first.
Self-exclusion and blocking tools: what they are
The UK Gambling Commission describes self-exclusion as a formal agreement not to gamble, and as a tool for people who have recognised that their gambling is harmful to them. It says gambling businesses licensed in Great Britain are required to have their own self-exclusion arrangements, and that after an agreement the business must close your account and return any money in it.
For online gambling in Great Britain, GAMSTOP says it is free, quick and easy, and that it blocks you from gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain. You can choose 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or 5 years with auto-renewal. GAMSTOP says you cannot cancel your registration during the exclusion period.
In Australia, BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register, is described by the Australian Government as a free initiative that lets you block yourself from all licensed Australian online and phone gambling providers. The minimum exclusion period is 3 months, and only the person themselves can register.
Neither scheme says what applies to an operator licensed somewhere else, so ask any operator you are considering which limit and exclusion tools it offers before you deposit. We would go one step earlier and ask before registering: in the middle of a bad run, a settings page is the last place you will think to look.
GambleAware, which says its support services are available only to Great Britain residents, lists several ways to make gambling harder in Great Britain: GAMSTOP for online accounts, blocking software on your devices, gambling blocks through your bank, and self-exclusion schemes for betting shops, casinos and bingo venues.
If you have excluded yourself from gambling, these guides are not for you.
For family and friends
Gam-Anon, for people affected by someone else's gambling, lists a hotline on 844-475-4213 on the website of its International Service Office in the United States. It says there are no dues or fees to attend. Gamblers Anonymous is a separate organisation: in the United States it lists a National Hotline on 855-222-5542, and it says there are no dues or fees and that meetings can be in person, virtual or by telephone.
Rules on betting differ from country to country, so check the law where you live before you open an account. The terms of use cover the rules for using this site.
If a number here is wrong or has changed, tell us.