Gambling is not a way to earn money or a solution to debt, bills or other money problems. Games are designed to involve chance, and you can lose money. If gambling is affecting your choices, finances or relationships, act on what you can observe rather than waiting for the situation to get worse.
Signs that gambling may be becoming a problem
Look for changes in your behaviour, such as:
- spending more time or money gambling than you intended;
- trying to win back losses, or returning soon after a loss to gamble again;
- borrowing money, using bill money or selling belongings to fund gambling;
- hiding how much you gamble, or lying about where money has gone;
- feeling restless or irritable when you try to stop or cut down;
- missing work, study, sleep or time with people because you are gambling;
- finding that gambling is affecting your mood, concentration or relationships.
One sign can be enough to take action. You do not need to wait until every part of your life is affected.
Take a practical step now
If you are logged in to a gambling account, open its responsible gambling or account settings and use the available limit controls. Remote operators must prompt new customers to set a financial limit before their first deposit and provide accessible account-level limit controls. UKGC-licensed casinos must also provide responsible gambling tools, including self-exclusion.
If you want to stop using an account, choose its self-exclusion option. If you cannot find the controls, contact the operator through the help or support option on its website or app and ask how to set a limit or self-exclude. Do not make another deposit while you are trying to find help. If it is difficult to act alone, ask someone you trust to sit with you while you use the account controls and make a plan to keep gambling funds out of reach.
For online slots, the total stake in a game cycle cannot exceed £2 if you are under 25 or £5 if you are 25 or older. At least 2.5 seconds must pass from the start of one game cycle before the next can begin, and autoplay is banned in Britain. These restrictions do not remove the risk of losing money.
Where to turn
No verified gambling-help organisations or contact details were supplied for this page. It would be unsafe to give you an unverified name, address or phone number. For immediate account-level action, use the responsible gambling controls on the operator’s website or app, or contact that operator through its own help or support service. UKGC licensees must offer an internal complaints process and access to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution service; if your concern is about how a complaint was handled, check the operator’s complaints information for its stated route to ADR.
If gambling is affecting your health or safety, speak to a qualified health professional or someone you trust and tell them plainly what is happening. If you are in immediate danger, contact the emergency services in your area.
Age and account safeguards
Operators must verify a customer’s age before allowing them to deposit into a gambling account. Do not use another person’s account or let another person use yours. Check that the operator displays its licence details and links to its public register information.
Remote gambling operators cannot accept credit-card payments for gambling, including credit-card funds routed through a money service business. They also cannot accept wallet payments where the wallet allows credit-card funds to be used for gambling. These rules are safeguards, not a substitute for setting limits or stopping when gambling is causing harm.