Gambling is entertainment that costs money. It is not a way to earn money or a solution to debt, rent, bills or other financial problems. If you are gambling to recover losses or cover an expense, stop and use the account controls below before placing another bet.
Signs that gambling may be becoming a problem
Look for changes you can observe, rather than relying on whether gambling still feels manageable:
- You spend more money or time gambling than you planned.
- You raise your stakes or return to gambling to try to win back losses.
- You borrow money, sell belongings or use money set aside for essentials to gamble.
- You hide gambling, account activity or losses from people close to you.
- You miss work, study, appointments or other commitments because of gambling.
- You feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down or stop.
- You keep gambling despite arguments, financial strain or other consequences.
One sign is enough to take action. You do not need to wait for a particular threshold or for someone else to agree that there is a problem.
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Take action now
If you have a gambling account open, go to its responsible gambling or account settings. Set a financial limit, reduce an existing limit or use the self-exclusion tool to prevent yourself from gambling with that operator. UK-licensed casinos must provide responsible gambling tools, including self-exclusion, and remote operators must provide accessible account-level limit controls. New customers must be prompted to set a financial limit before their first deposit.
If you cannot find the controls, contact the operator through the support route shown in your account or on its website and ask how to activate self-exclusion. Do not deposit while you are looking for the setting. If you use more than one gambling account, repeat the check for each operator; a restriction on one account does not necessarily restrict another.
You can also tell someone you trust what is happening and ask them to help you avoid access to gambling funds. This is a practical step, not a substitute for professional support.
Limits help. They are not a cure.
Where to turn
Start with the gambling operator: use its account-level limit and self-exclusion controls, or contact its customer support if you need help finding them. A UKGC-licensed casino must provide an internal complaints process and access to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service. If your concern is about the operator’s handling of a complaint, follow the complaint instructions it provides and check the operator’s licence information and public register link on its website or app.
No independently verified support organisation, address or phone contact is listed here. Do not rely on a contact detail unless you can confirm it directly through a trustworthy source. If you need urgent help because you may harm yourself or someone else, contact local emergency services now.
Age and safeguards
Operators must verify your age before allowing you to deposit into a gambling account. You must meet the legal age requirement to gamble; an operator should not allow deposits before checking this.
UK rules also require financial-limit controls and self-exclusion options. Credit cards cannot be used for gambling with UK-licensed casinos, including through a money service business, and wallets that allow credit-card funds to be used for gambling cannot be accepted. These restrictions reduce some routes to spending; they do not remove the need to set limits or stop when gambling is causing harm.
If you choose to gamble, decide in advance what you can afford to lose and do not treat a limit as money to spend. When gambling starts affecting your finances, relationships, work or wellbeing, use self-exclusion and seek support rather than trying to win losses back.