Support and self-exclusion

When gambling stops being entertainment

Gambling is a pastime you pay for — not a way to earn money or to fix a money problem. A few patterns suggest that it has moved past that point.

• You spend more money or more time than you planned, and it happens again.
• You try to win back what you have lost, or raise stakes to do so.
• You borrow, use savings set aside for something else or delay bills to keep playing.
• You hide how much you gamble from people close to you.
• You feel restless or low when you try to cut down, or you gamble to escape a bad mood.

Tools every licensed operator must offer

Any business licensed by the Gambling Commission to offer online gambling in Great Britain has to give its customers ways to stay in control. From 31 October 2025, anyone opening an account is asked to choose a deposit limit before paying in for the first time. Operators also offer time-outs for a short break, self-exclusion from that one operator for a longer period, and reminders of how long a session has lasted. Age and identity must be checked before anyone can gamble, and paying for gambling with a credit card has not been allowed since 14 April 2020.

These tools sit inside the account settings or the safer gambling section of each operator. Limits and time-outs explains the differences between the types of limit.

GAMSTOP: one step for every online operator

GAMSTOP is a free national self-exclusion scheme. A single registration blocks you from gambling online with every operator that holds a Gambling Commission licence for Great Britain, not just one site. You choose the length: 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. The period you pick is meant to hold on a difficult day as well as a good one, so choose it when you are calm.

Self-exclusion works best alongside other steps, because GAMSTOP covers online gambling only; betting shops, arcades and casino venues are outside it.

Blocks on your bank card and devices

Most large UK banks, and many card issuers, can stop gambling payments for you — usually through a setting in the banking app or a phone call.

Software can also stop gambling sites from opening on your phone, tablet or computer. BetBlocker is free. Gamban is a paid service. Either can sit alongside GAMSTOP and a bank block, so that one gap does not undo the others.

Treatment through the NHS

The NHS runs specialist gambling services, including the National Centre for Behavioural Addictions and regional NHS Gambling Services. You can refer yourself without waiting for a GP appointment, or ask your GP to refer you. Treatment is free.

Peer support groups

Gamblers Anonymous holds meetings where people who gamble support one another. GamAnon is the companion group for relatives and friends who are affected by someone else’s gambling.

If you are worried about someone close to you

Choose a calm moment, describe what you have noticed rather than what you think it means, and avoid blame. Taking over their debts or lending money to cover losses usually keeps the pattern going, so look after your own finances first. GamAnon and the organisations in the list above can help you as well; you do not need the other person’s agreement to ask for support yourself.

Under-18s

Gambling online is for adults only. Under section 46 of the Gambling Act 2005 it is an offence to invite a person under 18 to gamble. Licensed operators must confirm age and identity before anyone plays, including free-play versions of games.

Parents and carers can use the parental controls built into phones, tablets, computers and home broadband, and the blocking software described above, to keep gambling sites off a child’s devices.