Responsible gambling for UK players
Free help for UK players
If gambling is causing you harm, or you are worried about someone else, free help is available now. In England and Scotland, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. In Wales, call the NHS Wales Helpline on 0808 2819 265.
Both lines serve Great Britain only. GambleAware states that these support services are available only to Great Britain residents, and we state no Northern Ireland help line because none was captured.
Gamstop lets you block every online gambling site and app licensed in Great Britain at once. GambleAware lists these services and more help on its own site.
Keep it in proportion
Decide how much money and time you can afford before you start, and stop when you reach either. Never gamble with money you need for rent, bills or food, and take a break as soon as you notice you are chasing a loss.
Look for three tools in a bookmaker's terms: deposit limits, which cap what you can pay in over a day, week or month; time out, a short break from your account; and self-exclusion, a longer block on your account. Set a limit before your first deposit, not after a loss.
Our reviews list the tools each bookmaker states, and the Curacao bookmakers A to Z page links to every review.
Self-exclusion and Curacao bookmakers
A bookmaker abroad is never a way around a self-exclusion. If you have self-excluded, do not open an account with a Curacao bookmaker, and do not use one to keep gambling. If the urge is strong, contact one of the help services above instead.
Gamstop blocks gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain. It does not cover Curacao bookmakers, which sit outside that licensing.
Each of our reviews lists the self-exclusion tools that bookmaker states. Those tools apply to that one bookmaker only and do not replace Gamstop.
Our guide to checking a Curacao licence explains what that licence is and what it is not.
Adults only
In most cases, the minimum legal age for gambling in Great Britain is 18. Do not let anyone under 18 use your account, your cards or your device to gamble.
If you share a device with someone who should not gamble, take these steps. Give each person their own login on the device. Turn on the parental controls in the device's own settings. Keep passwords private, and remove saved payment cards from browsers and apps.
Settings on the device or the home internet connection can also stop chosen sites from loading. The steps differ by device and internet provider, so use the maker's or the provider's own help pages.
Sources
- Curacao Bookmakers' team tests of each bookmaker's offering
- gamstop.co.uk Used for help services. One page.
- gambleaware.org Used for help services. One page.