United Kingdom
GamCare
0808 8020 133 (free, 24/7)
National gambling support helpline. Free, confidential, 24-hour. Online chat and treatment referrals also available.
Help and resources18+
Responsible gambling
Gambling is entertainment for some and a serious problem for others. If you or someone you know is showing signs of gambling harm, the resources below are the right starting point. Not a replacement for professional support.
Warning signs
One or two of these occasionally doesn't necessarily mean a problem. A persistent pattern across several is a signal to step back and get external support.
- Spending more time or money on gambling than you planned — and being unable to stop even when you intended to.
- Gambling with money you cannot afford to lose — rent, bills, borrowed funds, credit cards you can't repay.
- Chasing losses — placing larger bets to recover what you've already lost, rather than accepting the loss.
- Lying about gambling to family, friends, or your partner. Hiding transaction records, deposit receipts, or account balances.
- Neglecting work, relationships, or responsibilities because of gambling time or gambling-related mood.
- Feeling anxious, depressed, or suicidal after gambling sessions — particularly after losing.
- Borrowing money to gamble, or gambling to solve financial problems caused by previous gambling.
Helplines by country
United Kingdom
BeGambleAware
0808 8020 133
UK-wide information and referral service. Same helpline number as GamCare; different entry point.
Sweden
Stödlinjen
020-81 91 00 (free)
National helpline for gambling problems, including for family and affected others.
Sweden
Spelpaus.se
Online registration
National self-exclusion register. Registering here excludes you from all Swedish-licensed operators — not offshore crypto casinos. Useful as a first step.
United States
National Council on Problem Gambling
1-800-522-4700 (24/7)
National helpline plus state-level resources. Free, confidential.
Canada
Problem Gambling Resources by Province
Province-specific
Ontario: ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600. Other provinces maintain their own helplines.
Australia
Gambling Help Online
1800 858 858
National service with phone, chat, email and self-exclusion support.
Germany
BZgA
0800 1 372 700 (free)
National federal helpline run by the Federal Centre for Health Education.
Ireland
Gambling Awareness Trust
www.extern.org/problem-gambling
1800 936 725
National helpline and treatment referrals.
International
Gamblers Anonymous
Local meeting finder on website
Peer-support fellowship with meetings in most countries. Free, anonymous, operating since 1957.
Operator-side tools
Every reputable operator — including all of the ones we rank on this site — provides tools to limit your play. Use them before you need them.
Deposit limits
Every major crypto casino — Stake, BC.Game, Cloudbet, Jackbit — supports daily, weekly or monthly deposit caps. Set them yourself via your account settings. Once set, most operators require a cool-off period (typically 24 hours) before the limit can be raised.
Session time-outs
Configurable forced session breaks — play for 30 minutes, be logged out for 15. Useful for breaking play-state inertia.
Reality checks
Pop-up reminders showing total time played and net position in the current session. Cheap to enable, genuinely useful.
Self-exclusion at individual operators
Most operators let you self-exclude at the account level for periods ranging from 24 hours to permanent. Once activated, the account is locked and cannot be reopened without contacting support.
Cross-operator self-exclusion
Regulated markets (UK, Sweden, Germany, Ontario, etc.) run national self-exclusion registers that cover all locally-licensed operators. Offshore crypto casinos are generally not bound by these registers, which is why people who genuinely want to stop gambling are often advised to also engage specific support services beyond registering.
When in doubt, step back
If any of this resonates — if gambling is causing stress, financial harm, or affecting relationships — pick up the phone and call one of the helplines above. They're free, confidential, and the people answering have heard every version of the story. You are not uniquely broken. Professional support works.