Responsible Gambling

Gambling is for adults only. You must be 18 or over, and for some people it becomes a problem that damages health, money, work and family. This page explains the signs, the tools that can help, and where to find support.

Age

It is illegal for anyone under 18 to gamble with a licensed operator in Great Britain, and operators must verify your age. If you are under 18, please leave this website. Parents and carers can use filtering software to block gambling sites on shared devices.

The harm it can do

Financial: money meant for rent, bills or savings is spent, debts build up, and borrowing to continue can follow.
Psychological: anxiety, low mood, poor sleep and in the worst cases thoughts of self-harm. If you are in crisis, call Samaritans on 116 123, free at any time.
Family and relationships: secrecy, arguments and broken trust, often affecting partners and children as much as the person who gambles.
Work and study: missed time, poor concentration and, for some, loss of a job.

How chasing losses works

After a loss it is common to feel that one more try will put things right. Each result in a game of chance is independent of the last, so a loss does not make a win more likely, yet the urge to recover it pushes people to spend more than they planned, which leads to bigger losses and a stronger urge. Deciding in advance how much you can afford to lose, and stopping when you reach it, is the simplest defence.

Warning signs

Spending more money or time than you intended.
Thinking about gambling most of the day, or planning the next session.
Returning to win back what you lost.
Hiding how much you spend, or lying about it.
Borrowing, or selling things, to gamble.
Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut down.
Neglecting work, family or things you used to enjoy.

Tools to limit yourself

Licensed operators must offer tools that help you stay in control. Look for them in your account settings and use them before you start:

limits on how much you can pay in over a day, a week or a month;
time limits, reminders and breaks;
a "cool-off" period when you want a short break;
self-exclusion from that operator for a period you choose.

The Gambling Commission explains these on itsself-exclusion page.

Your right to self-exclude

You have the right to ask a licensed operator to stop you using its service. Contact the operator's support team, or use the self-exclusion option in your account. To exclude yourself from every online operator licensed in Great Britain at once, register with GAMSTOP. It is free, and you choose a period from six months to five years.

Self-tests

These short questionnaires help you judge whether gambling is becoming a problem:

Where to get help

GamCare: Operates the National Gambling Helpline. Phone 0808 8020 133 (Free, 24 hours a day, every day).
GambleAware: Information, a self-assessment and a directory of support in your area.
GAMSTOP: Free self-exclusion from all online operators licensed in Great Britain. Phone 0800 138 6518 (10am to 8pm, every day).
Gamblers Anonymous UK: Free fellowship meetings across England, Wales and Ulster. Phone 0330 094 0322.
NHS: Self-check and referral to NHS specialist treatment clinics.

Treatment

Treatment is available free of charge. In England you can ask your GP, or refer yourself directly to one of the NHS specialist gambling clinics, which are organised by region. Charities and support groups offer counselling and peer support alongside them. Start with a national directory, which stays up to date when a single address changes:

Some of the clinics and their addresses, as published by the services themselves:

West Midlands Gambling Harms Clinic, Cobridge Community Health Centre, Building B, Ground Floor, Church Terrace, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 2JN. Phone 0300 123 0996.
East Midlands Gambling Harms Service, St Andrew's House, London Road, Derby DE1 2SX. Phone 0300 013 2330.
NHS Northern Gambling Service, Merrion House, Merrion Way, Leeds LS2 8PD. Phone 0300 300 1490.

Rights, rules and how licences are checked are on theplayer information page.