Safer gambling
The controls are free, and they work faster than you think.
Every operator licensed in Britain has to give you limits, time-outs and a route out. Here is what each one does and how quickly it bites.
Gambling is not a way to make money. The house edge is built into the mathematics of every casino game and verified during certification. Treat any money staked as spent on entertainment, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, the help below is free and confidential.
The tools
What your operator has to offer you
These are licence conditions, not favours. Any site holding a Gambling Commission licence must provide them, and they sit in the account settings rather than behind a support conversation.
Deposit limits
A cap on how much you can add to your account per day, week or month. The useful detail is the asymmetry: reducing a limit takes effect immediately, while increasing one is subject to a cooling-off period and a positive confirmation from you afterwards. That design is deliberate — it means a limit set in a calm moment cannot be undone in an impulsive one.
Time-outs
A short break from a single operator, typically available from twenty-four hours up to six weeks. The account is locked for the duration and cannot be reopened early. Useful when a session has run longer than intended and you want the decision taken out of your hands for the evening.
Self-exclusion at one operator
A longer block, a minimum of six months under the Commission's rules, applied to that operator and its associated brands. The operator must also remove you from its marketing and take reasonable steps to prevent you opening a new account during the period.
Reality checks and session reminders
An on-screen prompt at an interval you choose, showing how long you have been playing. It sounds trivial and it is one of the more effective controls available, because losing track of time is a more common problem than losing track of money.
The national scheme
GAMSTOP, and what it does not cover
One registration, every British-licensed online operator, for six months, one year or five years.
GAMSTOP is free, independent of any operator, and takes a few minutes to set up. Once your details are matched, every gambling business licensed by the Gambling Commission to offer remote play in Great Britain has to prevent you logging in — website, mobile site and app alike, because the block operates at the account level rather than the device.
Two limitations are worth knowing. It covers online only, so land-based venues need separate self-exclusion arrangements. And it covers licensed operators only, so sites licensed elsewhere are outside the scheme entirely — which is one more argument for checking the licence before you register anywhere. Registration cannot be cancelled during the period you choose.
Details, including how the matching process works, are set out by GAMSTOP directly.
Warning signs
When it has stopped being a pastime
None of these is a diagnosis. All of them are worth taking seriously if you recognise more than one.
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Chasing
Playing to recover a loss rather than for the entertainment. Because each round is independent of the last, the money already lost has no bearing on what happens next — but chasing feels like a strategy, which is what makes it dangerous.
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Staking money set aside for something else
Using funds allocated to bills, rent or savings. The clearest single indicator that the activity has moved outside its budget.
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Hiding it
Being vague with a partner, family member or friend about how much time or money is involved. Concealment usually arrives before the person themselves accepts there is a problem.
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Losing track of time
Sessions running far longer than intended, or reaching for the app in gaps that used to be filled with something else. This is what reality-check prompts exist to interrupt.
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Playing to change how you feel
Using gambling to manage boredom, stress or low mood rather than for the entertainment itself. A shift in motive is more significant than a shift in stake size.
Where to get help
Four organisations, none of them commercial
All independent of Jackpot Draft and of every operator we compare. Links open in a new tab.
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Gambling Commission
The statutory regulator. Its public register confirms whether an operator is licensed, and its guidance explains the protections a licence obliges them to provide.
gamblingcommission.gov.uk -
GAMSTOP
Free national self-exclusion for online gambling. One registration, every British-licensed operator, for the period you choose.
gamstop.co.uk -
GamCare
Runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, open every day, plus free treatment and support across Britain for anyone affected — including family and friends.
gamcare.org.uk -
BeGambleAware
Clear information on how gambling products work, a self-assessment tool, and routes into free confidential advice wherever you are in Great Britain.
begambleaware.org
Supporting someone else
Help is not restricted to the person gambling. GamCare's helpline and treatment services are open to partners, parents, adult children and friends, and you do not need the person's permission or involvement to call. If you are unsure how to raise it, that is a reasonable thing to ring about on its own.
Jackpot Draft is an independent comparison site. It is not a gambling operator, not a regulator, and not a treatment or support service. No games are offered, no bets are accepted and no money is handled here. This page is general information rather than clinical or legal advice, and it is no substitute for speaking to one of the organisations listed above. Gambling is for over-18s only and outcomes are never guaranteed. The National Gambling Helpline is free on 0808 8020 133.