Take Time to Think
Responsible gambling
Betting is entertainment that costs money. It is not a way to make money, not a second income, and not a way out of debt. If you are betting because you need the money, stop reading tips and read this.
Free from UK landlines and mobiles, and confidential. Live chat at gamcare.org.uk. You can also call about someone else's gambling.
In Nigeria or Kenya? Free help there ↓Money you can afford to lose, and nothing else
Decide what a week is worth before you start, and treat it as spent.
- Never bet money set aside for rent, bills, food or debt repayments.
- Never borrow to bet — not from a card, an overdraft, an app or a person.
- Never bet to recover a loss. Chasing turns a bad night into a serious problem.
- Never bet while drunk, angry, or trying not to feel something.
- Set the limit before you start, not after you are down.
Losing runs are normal. Ours are published.
Our settled results keep every losing day in the window our feed exposes, alongside the winning ones. A record with no losing runs has not avoided them — it has removed them.
Read ours as evidence that variance is real and any month can go badly, including for careful people. No tip on this site is a reason to stake money you need.
Signs that betting has stopped being entertainment
None proves anything alone. Several together, or one repeatedly, is a reason to act.
- You bet more than you decided to, or more often than you decided to.
- You bet to win back money you have already lost — the same stake stops feeling like enough.
- You borrow money, use a credit card, sell something or dip into money set aside for bills in order to bet.
- You hide how much you bet, or lie about it, to people close to you.
- You bet to escape stress, boredom, loneliness or low mood rather than because you want to.
- You feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down or stop.
- Betting is costing you sleep, work, study or time with people you care about.
- You have promised yourself you would stop, more than once, and not stopped.
BeGambleAware and GamCare both publish free self-assessment questionnaires — a couple of minutes, and more reliable than your own judgement on a bad week.
Tools that actually limit what can happen
Usually buried in account settings. They remove the decision from the moment you are least able to make it well.
Deposit limits
A daily, weekly or monthly cap on what you can pay in; operators in regulated markets must offer it. In Great Britain an increase is deliberately slow to take effect while a decrease applies immediately. Set it on a calm day.
Loss and stake limits
Cap what you can lose or stake in a period rather than what you deposit — which closes the gap where winnings get recycled straight back in.
Time-outs
A cooling-off period, typically 24 hours to six weeks, during which you cannot bet with that operator. Useful the moment you notice yourself chasing.
Reality checks
A periodic on-screen reminder of how long you have been playing and what you are up or down. It interrupts the part of a session where time stops registering.
Self-exclusion
A binding block for a fixed minimum period, usually six months or longer, that the operator cannot lift early on request. The strongest tool a single operator offers.
Blocking software
Blocks gambling sites and apps on your own devices whatever operator you use. BetBlocker is free and run by a registered charity; Gamban is paid. Some banks also offer a card gambling block.
GAMSTOP — United Kingdom only
Setting limits with one operator does nothing about the next one.
A free national scheme: one registration blocks you from every online gambling operator licensed in Great Britain for six months, one year or five years. It cannot be lifted early — that is the point of it, and the reason it works when account limits have not. Register at gamstop.co.uk. If you are registered with GAMSTOP, nothing on this site is intended for you, and we would rather you closed the tab.
Outside Great Britain, most regulated markets run an equivalent national register — Spain, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Australia among them. Your national regulator's website is the place to find it.
Free help in Nigeria and Kenya
All independent of us and of any bookmaker. We earn nothing from these links and send them nothing about you.
Gambling TherapyAnywhere, including Nigeria and Kenya
gamblingtherapy.orgFree, confidential support online in several languages — live chat, one-to-one help, moderated groups and forums. Nothing to install and no referral needed.
GamHelp KenyaKenya
gamhelpkenya.comFree support for people affected by gambling in Kenya, run by the East Africa Centre for Mental Health Services. Their site lists how to reach a counsellor.
Gamble AlertNigeria
gamblealert.orgA Nigerian non-profit working on gambling harm — awareness, counselling and routes into treatment.
Find a Helpline — KenyaKenya
findahelpline.comAn independent, checked directory of free helplines, filtered to gambling in Kenya.
Find a Helpline — NigeriaNigeria
findahelpline.comThe same directory, filtered to gambling in Nigeria.
Free help in the UK, and worldwide
All independent of us and of any bookmaker. We earn nothing from these links and send them nothing about you.
National Gambling Helpline
0808 8020 133Free and confidential, 24 hours a day, every day. Phone or live chat, operated by GamCare. You need not be in crisis, and you can call about someone else.
BeGambleAware
begambleaware.orgIndependent advice, a self-assessment tool, and a directory of free treatment across Great Britain.
GamCare
gamcare.org.ukFree treatment, one-to-one and group support, moderated forums and a chatroom. Also supports family members and partners.
GAMSTOP
gamstop.co.ukThe free UK self-exclusion scheme. One registration blocks every online operator licensed in Great Britain for six months, one year or five years, and cannot be reversed before the period ends.
Gambling Therapy
gamblingtherapy.orgFree online support anywhere in the world, in multiple languages — one-to-one help, moderated groups and forums. Use this if you are outside the UK.
Gamblers Anonymous
gamblersanonymous.org.ukPeer-led meetings, in person and online, in many countries. Free to attend, and no registration is required for a first meeting.
If you are worried about somebody else
The helpline and GamCare support family, partners and friends directly — the person gambling does not have to agree, or know. Gambling Therapy runs moderated groups for people affected by someone else's gambling.
Usual first steps: protect your own finances, do not pay off their gambling debts, and get support for yourself before managing theirs.
What we are, and what we are not
- We are not a bookmaker. We take no bets, hold no client money, and offer no credit.
- We hold no gambling licence and never claim to be regulated as an operator.
- Everything we publish is information and opinion — not advice, and not a promise about the future.
- Our content is for adults only: 18 or over, or the higher minimum age where you live.
- Checking that betting is legal where you live is your responsibility.
Last reviewed 31 July 2026. Helpline hours and self-exclusion terms are set by the organisations that run them and can change — check their own sites for the current position.