Responsible gambling: what the games cost, and where the help is

What the games cost

A slot returns its RTP over millions of spins and keeps the rest; a table game keeps its house edge on every bet; a bonus is a headline with wagering behind it that costs the edge on the turnover it requires. The RTP guide, the volatility guide and the bonus terms guide give the figures. The short version is that gambling is entertainment with a price, the price is paid on average whatever a single session does, and a budget for it should be set the way a budget for any entertainment is: in money that would otherwise be spent on something else, and never in money needed for anything.

The tools a casino should offer

Deposit limits per day, week and month, set in the account and lowered at once or raised only after a delay; loss and session limits where the platform supports them; a cool-off that closes the account for a period; and self-exclusion, which closes it for months or for good and cannot be reversed on request. The reviews on this site note which of these each brand offers in its account settings and which it lacks, because a brand whose only tool is self-exclusion has left the budgeting to you. Set a deposit limit before the first deposit, when it is a plan and not a reaction.

The signs

Chasing: depositing again to win back what the last deposit lost. Hiding: not telling the people who would ask. Borrowing for it, or spending money that had a purpose. Playing longer than intended and then longer again. Thinking about the next session during the rest of the day. Feeling relief at a loss because the session is over. None of these is unusual and each is a reason to stop, set a limit or use the cool-off; two or three together are the reason to write to one of the organisations below.

Where to get help

GambleAware, at begambleaware.org, offers free confidential advice and a helpline for the UK and material that applies anywhere. Gambling Therapy, at gamblingtherapy.org, runs free online support in many languages for players worldwide, including the countries this site covers. Gamblers Anonymous, at gamblersanonymous.org, runs peer groups in most countries, online and in person. Most countries also run a national helpline, listed on the responsible gambling page of any locally licensed operator and on the regulator's site. Writing to any of them costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

What we do here

The site does not run games and holds no accounts, so its tools are its words: the price of every offer printed beside it, the volatility of every slot named, and a link to this page in the footer of every page. The site is for adults of 18 or over, or the legal gambling age where you live if that is higher, and nothing on it is written to persuade anyone to gamble more than they planned. If a page reads that way, the contact page is where to say so.

Blocking software

Where limits in the account are not enough, blocking software installed on your devices stops gambling sites loading at all, for a period you set and cannot shorten; Gamban and BetBlocker are the widely used ones, and the organisations above can point to others. Banks in many countries also offer a gambling block on cards, switched on in the banking app, that declines transactions in the gambling merchant category.