Responsible gambling: tools, limits and where to get help

If you need help now

One number, free, all day, every day.

GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. It is free from landlines and mobiles, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and confidential. GamCare also runs a live chat and WhatsApp service, both on its talk to us page. You do not need to have anything figured out before you call.

If you are worried about money as well as gambling, Citizens Advice offers free debt advice, and the helpline can direct you to it.

Signs it has stopped being fun

None of these are diagnoses. These are reasons to speak to someone.

• Logging in for the daily prize has become something you must do, and missing it bothers you more than it should.
• You are chasing losses, depositing money to recover money lost earlier in the session.
• You are spending money on gambling that was meant for rent, bills or food, or borrowing to fund your gambling.
• You are concealing your gambling or your losses from the people close to you.
• Gambling is the activity you choose when you feel low, bored or stressed.
• You have tried to cut down and found you could not.

The NHS has a simple guide on how to get help for problems with gambling, including how to self-refer to its specialist gambling clinics.

The tools every UK licensed casino must give you

These are located in the account settings of all ten casinos on this site, and the Gambling Commission's licence conditions require them.

Deposit limits A daily, weekly or monthly cap on what you can pay in. A decrease applies at once; an increase waits at least 24 hours. Our guide to casino deposit limits shows where the setting is at each of the ten.

Time-outs A short break, from a day to six weeks, during which you cannot log in to play. Daily prizes you miss during a time-out are simply missed.

Self-exclusion A longer closure, six months or more, at that casino. Balances are returned. Our guide on what happens when a casino closes your account covers the money side.

Reality checks and net position A timed reminder of how long you have played and what you have won or lost, and a running net deposit figure in the account. Both can be switched on in settings.

Blocks that work across every casino

Tools within one casino stop one casino. These stop all of them.

• GAMSTOP. The national self-exclusion scheme. One registration blocks every Gambling Commission licensee for a period of six months, one year or five years, and it is not possible to end it earlier. Register at gamstop.co.uk; our GAMSTOP guide explains what it blocks, what it does not, and what to expect before you sign up.
• A bank gambling block. Most UK banks will allow you to disable gambling transactions on a card or account from the app, with a wait of 48 or 72 hours before it can be lifted. Our bank block guide lists where the switch is located at 20 banks.
• Blocking software. Gamban and BetBlocker block gambling sites and apps on a phone or computer. BetBlocker is free.

All three work together. GAMSTOP closes the accounts, the bank block stops the money, and the software stops the sites. GAMSTOP's own tools and support page lists all three.

Where to get help

If you are worried about someone else

The helpline accepts calls from friends and family as well as from people who gamble. GAMSTOP has a page on supporting a loved one, and GamCare provides support for affected others separately. You cannot sign another adult up to GAMSTOP, but you can help them sign up, and a bank block on a joint account is something you can raise with the bank together.

What SpinRewardz does about it

• Each page carries the 18+ mark, the helpline number and a link to this page. The site is for adults in Great Britain.
• The only organisations listed are those licensed by the Gambling Commission, so every casino on the site is on GAMSTOP and must offer the tools above.
• Daily prizes are described as an incentive to log in every day, with a gate, a cap and an expiry. Where a prize is random or can pay nothing, the page says so.
• An offer that requires a wager of your own is never called a free spin.
• No part of the site is designed to appeal to under-18s, and no page states that playing more is a way to win.