Home / Responsible Gambling

The ground rules

• Bet only money you can afford to lose completely. If losing it would hurt — rent, food, family, loans — it is not betting money.
• Never borrow to bet, and never bet to pay a debt. Betting borrowed money turns a loss into a crisis.
• Expect to lose over time. The bookmaker's margin means the maths is against every bettor. Treat any stake as the price of entertainment, like a cinema ticket.
• Never chase losses. Betting more to win back what you lost is the single most destructive pattern in gambling.
• Don't bet when upset, stressed, drinking, or tired. Your judgement is the only protection you have — don't disable it.

Set limits before you start

Decide these numbers on a calm day, write them down, and use the operator's built-in tools to enforce them:

• A total budget for a set period (week or month) that sits outside your living expenses.
• A fixed stake size — a small, flat amount per bet, so no single result can hurt.
• Deposit limits in your account settings, so the budget cannot quietly grow.
• Time limits — gambling sessions should have an end, like any other entertainment.
• A stop rule for winning too: decide in advance what you will withdraw, so a good day doesn't become a bad night.

Warning signs — in yourself or someone you love

• Thinking about betting constantly, or planning the day around it
• Betting with more money, or more often, to feel the same excitement
• Hiding betting from family, or lying about losses
• Chasing losses — returning immediately to win money back
• Betting money meant for bills, food, or family
• Feeling restless or irritable when trying to stop
• Work, studies or relationships suffering because of gambling

One or two of these is a signal to take a long break and talk to someone you trust. Several of them together means gambling has become a problem, and stopping — with support — is the priority, not "betting smarter".

Time-outs and self-exclusion

Licensed operators are expected to offer time-outs (a short cooling-off block on your account) and self-exclusion (a longer block, usually months or more, that you cannot simply undo in a weak moment). If you self-exclude, honour it everywhere: close accounts with other operators too, delete betting apps, and tell a trusted person what you have done so you are not carrying it alone. If an operator makes these tools hard to find or refuses to apply them, that tells you everything about that operator.

If you need help

You are not weak and you are not alone — problem gambling is a recognised health issue, not a character flaw. Talk to a family member, a friend, or a doctor or counsellor. International organisations such as GamblingTherapy (gamblingtherapy.org) offer free, confidential online support and live chat in many languages, and Gamblers Anonymous runs peer support groups worldwide. If gambling is connected to debt, seek debt advice before anything else — the betting must stop for the debt plan to work.