Responsible gambling: help, limits and self-exclusion

Get help now

National Gambling Helpline (GamCare): 0808 8020 133. Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, with chat and WhatsApp as well as phone. Source: GamCare, checked 6 November 2026.
Samaritans: 116 123, if you are in distress. In an emergency, call 999. Both are named on the GamCare page.
GambleAware: [gambleaware.org](https://www.gambleaware.org/) offers support to people living in Great Britain.
GamCare: [gamcare.org.uk](https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/talk-to-us-now/) lists ways to talk to someone now.

Signs to notice

Ask yourself honestly:

Do I play for longer or spend more than I planned?
Do I try to win back what I have lost?
Do I hide how much I gamble from people close to me?
Do I feel anxious or irritable when I cannot play?
Am I using gambling to escape worries or to fix money problems?

Gambling is not a way to solve money problems or to make a living. If several answers are yes, talk to the helpline or someone you trust.

Gamstop: block your accounts

Gamstop is a free national self-exclusion scheme. It blocks your online gambling accounts with companies licensed in Great Britain. Participation is required for remote licensees under Gambling Commission rule SR 3.5.5.

Choose a period of 6 months, 1 year or 5 years, or 5 years with automatic renewal.
A block can take up to 24 hours to take effect.
You cannot cancel it during the period you chose.
When the period ends, the block stays until you ask Gamstop to lift it.
It is for people living in the UK.

Register at gamstop.co.uk. Our step-by-step page is registering with Gamstop.

Limits, reality checks and time-outs

Licensed operators must give you responsible gambling tools. They include deposit limits, time-outs and reality checks. Set a deposit limit before your first hand, not after a bad session. See setting a deposit limit and safety tools at the table.

A time-out is a short break you choose; self-exclusion is a longer block. A limit only works if you set it at an amount you can afford to lose.

Other ways to block gambling

BetBlocker is a free blocking app.
Gamban is a blocking app that is paid after a trial period.
Many banks let you block gambling payments on your account.
In person, MOSES covers betting shops, SENSE covers casinos and BISES covers bingo.

GambleAware describes these options on its page about blocking and self-exclusion.

Age and the law

You must be 18 or over to gamble online at a casino. Under the Gambling Act 2005 it is an offence to invite, cause or permit a child or young person to gamble. Operators must check your age before you deposit or play.

For a wider guide to staying in control at a table, read staying in control at a live blackjack table. Questions about this page can go through contact; who runs the site is on about this site.

Staying in control at a live blackjack table: Limits, breaks, Gamstop and where to get help while playing live blackjack, with the National Gambling Helpline number and links to GamCare and GambleAware.
Setting a deposit limit before the first hand: How to set a deposit limit with a licensed operator before you play live casino games, and what the RTS 12 changes mean for you.
Registering with Gamstop: the steps and the limits: How to register with Gamstop, how long self-exclusion lasts, when the block starts and what it does not cover, with help lines.
Reality checks, limits and time-outs at a live table: Which safer gambling tools licensed casinos must offer for live games: limits, time-outs, reality checks and Gamstop, and where to find them.
Behind Seatcheck: who runs it and where the money comes from: Who runs Seatcheck, how the site earns money, what it does and what it does not do. Company details are listed in full on this page.
Reach the Seatcheck editorial desk: How to contact the Seatcheck editorial team by email or post, what to write to us about and what we cannot help with.

Playing live? Help, limits and self-exclusion in one place