Responsible Gambling in the UK: Signs and Support

Gambling can become difficult to control gradually. A useful point to check is whether it is changing how you use money, how you spend your time, or how you treat people around you. Gambling is not a way to earn money and cannot solve money problems. Losses do not make a win more likely.

Signs that gambling may be a problem

Pay attention to what you do, not only to how you feel. Warning signs include:

• spending more than you planned, or increasing stakes to try to recover losses;
• gambling with money intended for bills, food, rent or other essentials;
• borrowing, using overdrafts or selling belongings to fund gambling;
• hiding gambling or its cost from someone close to you;
• repeatedly trying to cut down or stop, then returning to gambling;
• staying up late, missing work or neglecting other responsibilities to gamble;
• feeling restless or irritable when you try to stop;
• continuing despite debt, arguments, distress or other consequences.

One sign may be enough to take action. You do not need to wait for a crisis or prove that the problem is serious.

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Take a practical step now

If gambling is causing harm, pause before making another deposit. Use the account controls to set a financial limit, lower an existing limit, or stop gambling through the operator’s self-exclusion tool. UK-licensed casinos must provide responsible gambling tools, including self-exclusion. Remote operators must give new customers a prompt to set a financial limit before their first deposit and make account-level limit controls accessible.

If you cannot keep to a limit or stop using an account, seek help from a support organisation rather than relying on willpower alone. The organisations and contact details listed on this page are the only help contacts available here. If they are not listed, no contact details have been verified for this page.

Where to turn

No gambling support organisations, addresses or phone numbers have been verified for this page. It would be unsafe to guess or supply unverified contact details. If you need help now, check your casino account for its responsible gambling and self-exclusion controls, and look for a UK gambling support service through a trusted, independently verified source. Do not rely on a contact detail unless you can confirm it belongs to the service you intend to reach.

Age and safeguards

Operators must verify your age before allowing you to deposit into a gambling account. Gambling is for adults; do not use another person’s account or let someone else use yours.

UK rules also set safeguards for online slots. Autoplay is banned in Britain, and each slot spin must last at least 2.5 seconds. In an online slots game, the total stake in a game cycle must not 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.

Remote gambling operators cannot accept credit-card payments for gambling, including credit-card funding 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 restrictions are safeguards, not a way to make gambling safe for everyone.

If you have a complaint

UKGC licensees must provide an internal complaints process and access to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution service. If your concern is about an operator, check its complaints information and the licence details shown on its gambling website or app. Those details should link to its public register licence information.

Limits and other safeguards can help you interrupt gambling, but they do not change the odds or remove the risk of loss. If gambling is affecting your finances or relationships, act on what you have noticed and seek verified support.