Responsible gambling: tools, warning signs and free help

The tools every GB-licensed casino must offer, the signs that gambling is becoming a problem, and where to get free, confidential help.

By Eleanor Hartley, editor · Checked on 1 November 2026

Responsible gambling means gambling only with money and time you can afford to lose, and stopping when it stops being a choice. Gambling is for adults: it is illegal for anyone under 18 to gamble online in Great Britain, and licensed casinos verify age and identity before anyone can deposit or play. This page explains the tools every licensed operator must provide, the warning signs of a problem and where to find free help.

Tools every licensed casino provides

• Deposit limits. Since 31 October 2025 licensed sites prompt you to set a financial limit before your first deposit, and setting one is the default. Since 30 September 2026 they must offer gross deposit limits over fixed periods, and only those may be called deposit limits.
• Reality checks. Reminders of how long you have been playing. Online slots also show your net position and time played during a session.
• Time-outs. A short break that locks your account, often from 24 hours to around six weeks depending on the operator.
• Self-exclusion. A longer block on your account with one operator, set from its safer gambling settings.

Credit cards cannot be used for gambling in Great Britain, including through e-wallets funded by a credit card, and reverse withdrawals are banned, so a pending withdrawal cannot be cancelled to keep playing.

GAMSTOP: self-exclusion from every licensed site

GAMSTOP is the free national online self-exclusion scheme. One registration at gamstop.co.uk blocks access to accounts on all gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain, because every licensed online operator has had to take part since 31 March 2020. You choose a minimum period of six months, one year or five years. An exclusion cannot be cancelled before its period ends.

Signs that gambling is becoming a problem

• Spending more money or time than you planned, more often.
• Chasing losses, or gambling to win back money.
• Borrowing, or using money meant for bills, to gamble.
• Hiding gambling from family or friends.
• Feeling anxious, irritable or low when not gambling.
• Gambling to escape problems or difficult feelings.

If any of these sound familiar, it is worth talking to someone now rather than later.

Free, confidential help

The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare for people in England, Scotland and Wales, is free and confidential and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by phone on 0808 8020 133 or by live chat at gamcare.org.uk. You can call about your own gambling or about someone else's.

Alongside the helpline, GAMSTOP blocks access to licensed gambling sites, and each operator's own limits and time-outs can be set in minutes from your account.

What responsible gaming means on this site

All British Casinos lists only operators licensed by the Gambling Commission and never promotes ways round GAMSTOP, limits or checks. This page carries no offers or operator links. Bonus and casino pages explain the terms and the limits that apply, and the scoring method gives safer gambling tools 15% of every operator's score.