Stay in control
A handful of rules underpin healthy play. They only work if you keep to every one of them, every time.
- Decide what you can lose before opening the site, and treat that number as final — chasing losses is how budgets die.
- Reputable casinos all offer deposit, loss and session limits; activate them the day you register, not after a bad week.
- Build breaks into your sessions, and never use gambling as a remedy for stress, boredom or a low mood.
- Keep alcohol and gambling separate, and never fund play with borrowed money of any kind.
- Accept the maths: every game carries a house edge, so over time gambling costs money — it's entertainment, never income.
Warning signs
Keep an eye out for these signals in your own behaviour: deposits creeping beyond what you planned, hiding your play from partners or friends, gambling specifically to win back losses, or feeling restless and anxious on days you don't play. Any single one of them is reason enough to take a cooling-off period or self-exclude — those tools do the most good used early, while stepping back is still easy.
Where to get help
Each of the organisations listed below offers help that is free, confidential and open to family members as much as to players:
| Region | Organisation | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Loket Kansspel | 0900-2177721 |
| Sweden | Stödlinjen | 020-81 91 00 |
| Denmark | StopSpillet | 70 22 28 25 |
| Finland | Peluuri | 0800 100 101 |
| Ireland | Gamble Aware Ireland / GamblersAnonymous.ie | problemgambling.ie |
| UK | GamCare / National Gambling Helpline | 0808 8020 133 |
| Australia | Gambling Help Online | 1800 858 858 |
18+ only
Gambling is limited to those aged 18 and over — or older where your country sets a higher legal age. And if at some earlier point you signed up to a national self-exclusion scheme, honour that choice; it was made for good reason, and hunting for workarounds defeats its purpose.