Safer Betting: Limits, Warning Signs and Free Help

Betting should be paid entertainment, never a way to make money or solve money problems. You must be 18 or older to bet, or older if the law where you live says so. The bookmaker always has an edge built into its prices, so over time most bettors lose. The tools and services below help you keep it that way: small, planned and under control.

Warning signs

• Betting more than you planned, or more often, to feel the same excitement.
• Chasing losses: raising stakes or betting again to win back money.
• Borrowing, using credit or selling things to bet.
• Hiding betting from family or friends, or feeling guilty about it.
• Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut down.
• Betting affecting work, sleep, relationships or bills.

If one or more of these sounds familiar, take a break now and talk to someone. Help is free and confidential.

Tools you can use

• Deposit limits: set a daily, weekly or monthly cap in your bookmaker account before you start. Decreases usually apply at once; increases wait for a cooling-off period.
• Loss and stake limits: cap what you can lose or bet in a period, where offered.
• Reality checks: reminders of how long you have been playing.
• Time-outs: a short break, from a day to several weeks.
• Self-exclusion: closing your account for months or years. Unlike a normal closure, it is designed to stop you reopening it early.
• Bank gambling blocks: many banks let you block gambling transactions on your card from the banking app.
• Blocking software: apps that block gambling websites on your devices.

Self-exclusion at one bookmaker does not cover others. Use it at every site where you have an account, and add a bank block as a backstop.

Where to get free help

• International: Gamblers Anonymous (gamblersanonymous.org) runs meetings worldwide, in person and online. Gambling Therapy (gamblingtherapy.org) offers free online support and live chat in several languages.
• United Kingdom: GAMSTOP (gamstop.co.uk) lets you self-exclude from all online gambling sites licensed in Great Britain in one step. It does not cover sites without a UK licence.
• United States: call or text 1-800-MY-RESET, the national helpline of the National Council on Problem Gambling, available around the clock. Many states also run self-exclusion programmes; see our US sports betting page.
• Elsewhere: most countries with licensed gambling have a national helpline and a self-exclusion register; your regulator’s website lists them.

Helping someone else

If you are worried about a partner, relative or friend, the same services can support you as well as them. Talk calmly, avoid lending money for betting, and encourage them to use the tools above. Gamblers Anonymous also points families to dedicated support groups.

Our guides explain the maths behind the bookmaker’s edge, for example in betting odds explained and the bonuses guide, because understanding the cost is part of staying in control. Questions about this page can be sent through our contact page.