Responsible Gambling

If gambling is causing you harm, help is available 24/7. Resources, tools, and support for safer betting.

Last updated: November 8, 2026
Need help now?If gambling is causing you harm, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700 (US, 24/7, free, confidential). Text: 1-800-522-4700. Chat: ncpgambling.org

Outside the US: BeGambleAware.org | GamblingTherapy.org

Where We Stand

We earn a commission when you open an account through one of our links. That gives us a reason to want you betting, and you should know that before you read anything else on this page.

Our answer to that conflict is simple. We keep this page one click from every review, we write for adults only, and we do not write copy designed to make you bet more or bet bigger. Our job is to help you pick a book that pays and to explain how the markets work. What you do with that is your call, and it should be a decision made with money you can afford to lose.

Who Is at Risk

Problem gambling turns up at every income level and every age. The factors that raise the odds are known: a family history of gambling problems, a past struggle with another addiction, depression or anxiety, a period of real financial stress, and a habit of betting many times a day, which live betting makes easy.

Sports bettors have an extra trap. Because sports betting involves skill, a losing run is easy to explain away as bad beats or a bad read instead of a pattern. A bettor who is down $5,000 on the year and still “due” is not analyzing. That is the pattern.

Signs It Has Become a Problem

Any of these is a signal worth taking seriously:

  • Betting more than you planned, more often than you planned
  • Chasing: placing new bets to win back what you just lost
  • Lying to a partner, family or friends about how much time or money goes into it
  • Borrowing to bet, or betting with rent, bill or grocery money
  • Feeling anxious, irritable or restless when you try to cut back
  • Betting to escape stress, anxiety or a bad stretch in your life
  • Trying to stop and not managing to
  • Letting work, family or health slide because of betting

One of these does not mean you have a gambling disorder. It means the pattern is worth a hard look now, because it is far easier to fix early than after the money is gone.

Checking Yourself

Two free screening questionnaires are used by clinicians: the NODS (National Opinion Research Center DSM Screen for Gambling Problems) and the PGSI (Problem Gambling Severity Index). Neither is a diagnosis. Both take a few minutes and give you an honest number to look at.

The shortest version is one question. Have you ever bet money you could not afford to lose? If yes, even once, keep reading.

Tools the Books Give You

The books we review are offshore and sit outside US state regulation, so no regulator forces them to offer these tools. Most offer some of them anyway. If a book offers one you need, use it, and if a book does not offer the one you need, that is a reason to pick a different book. Each review notes what the book actually provides.

Deposit Limits

A daily, weekly or monthly cap on what you can put in. This is the single most useful tool because it takes the 2 a.m. redeposit off the table. Set it to your real entertainment budget, not to what a good week might look like.

Loss Limits

A cap on how much you can lose over a set period. Once you hit it, the account stops taking bets until the period resets. It sits on top of a deposit limit and catches the case where you deposited within your limit and then lost it all in one night.

Session Time Limits

A maximum session length, after which you are logged out. Most useful during live betting, where an hour disappears without you noticing.

Self-Exclusion

The strongest tool short of quitting. You ask the book to close your access for a period you choose, usually 6 months, 1 year, 3 years or permanently, and the book will not reopen it early even if you ask. With offshore books the exclusion covers that book only, so if you need to exclude from everything, do it at each book where you hold an account.

In the US, many states run self-exclusion registries that cover every state-licensed operator. The NCPG can point you to your state’s program. In the UK, GAMSTOP blocks you from every UK-licensed operator at once.

Reality Checks

A pop-up at an interval you set that shows how long you have been on the site and how much you have wagered. If your book has it, turn it on. It costs nothing and it interrupts the autopilot.

Cooling-Off Periods

A short break, usually 24 hours, 72 hours or 7 days, that you cannot cancel once it starts. It is the right tool after a bad night when you know you will want to chase tomorrow.

Getting Help

United States

  • National Council on Problem Gambling: 1-800-522-4700 (24/7 helpline) | ncpgambling.org
  • Gamblers Anonymous: Free peer-support meetings nationwide | gamblersanonymous.org
  • SAMHSA Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 (mental health and substance use)

United Kingdom

Canada

Australia

Philippines

  • National Problem Gambling Helpline (PAGCOR): (02) 8248-9568 (24/7, confidential, also for family members)
  • Self-exclusion: six months, one year or five years from every PAGCOR-licensed casino and online site, with family-initiated exclusion available | osea.pagcor.ph
  • Gamblers Anonymous Philippines: 0915 938 2808

International

For Family and Friends

A gambling problem lands on the people around the gambler too. Gam-Anon runs peer support for partners and families. GamCare in the UK and the NCPG in the US both have guidance written for you rather than for the bettor.

If you are going to raise it with someone, stick to what you have seen (the missed bill, the late nights, the money that went missing) rather than what you think they are. You are trying to start a conversation, not win one.

What We Will Not Do

We write for adults. We do not describe betting as easy money, we do not hide the vig, and we do not pretend a strategy guide turns a losing bettor into a winning one. Every review says what tools the book offers so you can set a limit before you deposit.

We do not run contests or promotions built to push volume. If a book we list starts going after players who have asked to be cut off, or ignores a self-exclusion request, that goes into its grade and can end the listing.