Responsible gambling

Rules that make a difference

• Set a budget before you start and do not exceed it, whatever happens.
• Never gamble with money needed for bills and essentials, or with borrowed money.
• Never chase losses by increasing your stakes — it is the most expensive mistake there is.
• Set time limits and take regular breaks, even when you are winning.
• Do not gamble under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or while emotionally distressed.
• Treat the money staked as the price of entertainment, not as an investment.

Warning signs

• Gambling for longer, or with more money, than you had planned.
• Hiding your gambling from family, friends or colleagues.
• Borrowing money or selling possessions in order to gamble.
• Feeling irritable, anxious or restless when you are not gambling.
• Letting work, studies or personal relationships slide.
• Gambling to escape problems, stress or low mood.

Tools at licensed operators

Every operator licensed by the Gambling Commission must offer deposit limits, and you are invited to set one when you open an account. Most also offer loss limits, time-outs, reality checks that remind you how long you have been playing, and self-assessment tests.

Reducing a limit takes effect straight away. Increasing one only takes effect after a cooling-off period, precisely to prevent decisions made in the heat of the moment. Operators are also required to step in if they see signs that your gambling may be causing harm.

Self-exclusion with GAMSTOP

GAMSTOP is a free national scheme. Once you register, every online gambling operator licensed in Great Britain must block your account and stop sending you marketing for the period you choose — six months, one year or five years.

You can register online at gamstop.co.uk in a few minutes. Once active, the exclusion cannot be lifted before the period ends. You can also use blocking software and ask your bank to block gambling transactions on your cards.