Responsible Gambling

Version of 24 September 2026

Gambling is entertainment that costs money. These tools help keep the cost where you decided it should be.

Everything on this page is available to every player from the day the account opens. None of it costs anything, none of it needs a reason, and you can use as much or as little as suits you.

1. Tools on every account

• Deposit limits per day, week or month. Lowering a limit is immediate; raising one waits 24 hours.
• Loss and wager limits, which stop play once reached for the period you choose.
• Session limits and reality checks, which show time played and net result at intervals you set.
• Cooling-off from 24 hours to six weeks. During it you cannot log in to play or deposit.
• Self-exclusion from six months to permanent. It cannot be lifted before it ends, and we remove you from all marketing.

All of them are under Responsible Gambling in your account. Live chat can set any of them for you too.

2. Setting a tool, step by step

Each tool lives in the same place and works the same way, so once you have set one, the rest take a minute.

Deposit, loss and wager limits

1. Log in and open your account menu.
2. Go to the Responsible Gambling section and open the limits screen.
3. Pick the type of limit and the period: a day, a week or a month.
4. Enter the amount and confirm. A lower figure applies straight away.
5. If you later want a higher figure, request it on the same screen. It takes effect after 24 hours, and you can cancel the request during that wait.

You can run all three limits side by side. Many players find a monthly deposit limit plus a daily loss limit covers most situations.

Session limits and reality checks

1. In the same section, open the settings for time and reminders.
2. Set a maximum session length if you want play to end automatically.
3. Choose how often a reality check should appear, for example every 30 or 60 minutes.
4. Save. The settings follow your account on phone, tablet and computer.

Cooling-off and self-exclusion

1. Open the Responsible Gambling section and pick the option for a break.
2. Select cooling-off or self-exclusion, then the length.
3. Read the summary of what will happen to your account and confirm.
4. You are logged out, and the break starts at once.

Prefer to talk it through? Our live chat team, available 24/7 in English, can set any of these for you while you wait.

3. Planning a budget before you play

The simplest habit is deciding your spend before the session starts, while you are relaxed and nothing is riding on it.

Pick a figure you would be happy to spend on a night out, a film or a meal. Treat it as the price of the evening's entertainment. If some of it comes back as a win, that is a bonus on top.

Then put that figure into a deposit limit. A limit does the remembering for you, so there is no need to keep a running total in your head.

A few other things that help:

• Use money left over after bills, rent and food, never money set aside for them.
• Decide how long you want to play as well as how much, and set a session limit to match.
• Step away for a few minutes every so often. A cup of tea is a good reset.
• When the budget for the day is used, call it a night and come back another time.
• Keep a win when you get one. Withdrawing part of it locks in the good result.

4. What a reality check looks like

A reality check is a small window that pauses the game at the interval you chose. It shows how long you have been logged in, how much you have staked in that session and your net result so far.

From that window you can carry on, look through your account history or log out. The game waits while the message is on screen, so nothing happens in the background.

Plenty of players tell us this is the tool they value most. Seeing the clock and the numbers together makes it easy to decide, calmly, whether to keep going.

You can change the interval whenever you like. Shorter gaps work well for fast games such as slots, where many rounds pass in a few minutes, while table and live games often feel right with a longer one. If you set a session limit as well, the final reality check tells you the session is ending and closes the game once you confirm.

5. Cooling-off and self-exclusion: what happens to your account

Cooling-off is a short pause, from 24 hours up to six weeks. It suits the times you simply want a rest. When it ends, your account opens again without you having to ask.

Self-exclusion is for a longer or permanent step back, from six months upwards. It cannot be shortened or lifted early, even if you contact us and ask. After a fixed period ends, the account stays closed until you actively request to return, and we may ask a few questions before reopening it.

In both cases, here is what happens to your money:

• Any balance of your own money stays yours, and you can withdraw it. Live chat can help if you are logged out.
• Open bonuses close when the break starts, along with any bonus funds and free spins still attached to them.
• Pending withdrawals continue to be processed as normal.
• Marketing stops. You will not receive emails, texts or offers from us during the break.

6. GamStop and us

GamStop is the UK's national self-exclusion scheme, and it covers operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. GambleZen Casino is licensed in Curaçao, so a GamStop registration does not block our site. If you have registered with GamStop, please do not open an account with us. If you already have one, use our self-exclusion as well, and consider blocking software such as Gamban, which stops gambling sites on your devices.

7. Blocking tools for devices and banks

Our own self-exclusion covers your account with us. For a wider barrier, a couple of outside tools work well alongside it.

Gamban is software that blocks gambling sites and apps across phones, tablets and computers. Once installed, it is designed to be hard to switch off on impulse.

Many UK banks also let you block gambling transactions from their app. The option usually sits in the card settings, and some banks add a waiting period before the block can be removed. If you cannot find it, your bank's customer service can point you to it.

Phones and home routers have their own content filters too, which are useful for households where several people share a device. Using two or three of these barriers together gives the steadiest protection.

8. Signs worth taking seriously

• Spending more than you planned, or more than you can afford to lose.
• Raising stakes to win back what has already gone.
• Borrowing, or using money meant for bills, to gamble.
• Hiding gambling from people close to you.
• Feeling restless or irritable when you are not playing.

If two or more of these sound familiar, take a break now and talk to someone.

9. A quick self-check

Answer these honestly, just for yourself. Nobody sees the result.

• Have you played for longer than you meant to in the past month?
• Have you deposited again to win back money you had just lost?
• Have you felt low or anxious after a session?
• Has anyone close to you mentioned your gambling?
• Have you told someone you spent less than you really did?
• Have you missed sleep, work or plans with friends to keep playing?
• Have you raised a limit soon after setting it?
• Have you thought about gambling as a way out of money worries?

Mostly no? Your current habits seem to be working, and the tools above can keep them that way. One or two yeses are worth noticing, and a short cooling-off can help. Several yeses mean it is a good time to speak to one of the services below. BeGambleAware also has a fuller self-assessment on its site.

10. Free help in the UK

• The National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133, free, confidential, open 24 hours.
• BeGambleAware: advice, a self-assessment and live chat.
• GamCare: counselling and support for players and families.
• Gamblers Anonymous UK: local and online meetings.

You do not need to be in crisis to call. Many people ring the helpline simply to talk through how they feel about their play.

11. Money and debt support

When gambling has left bills unpaid or debts building up, free advice can make a real difference. Citizens Advice offers confidential help with debt, budgeting and dealing with lenders, online or in person at local offices.

Speaking to a lender early usually opens more options than waiting. Avoid taking new credit to cover gambling losses, since that tends to make the problem larger rather than smaller.

12. Help for friends and family

Watching someone you care about struggle with gambling is hard. You are also entitled to support in your own right.

GamCare and the National Gambling Helpline both speak with partners, parents, adult children and friends, and they can suggest ways to start a conversation without it turning into an argument. Gamblers Anonymous UK can also point families towards related support groups.

Practical steps that often help: talk at a calm moment rather than straight after a loss, focus on how things feel rather than on figures, and protect your own finances, for example by keeping separate accounts.

If you believe someone is gambling on an account with us in a way that worries you, you can tell our team. We cannot share details of another person's account, but we do look into what you report.

13. Under 18s

Only adults can play. We check age at registration and again during verification, close any account opened by someone under 18 and return the deposits. Parents can use device filters such as Net Nanny or the controls built into phones and routers.

Keep login details private, and avoid saving passwords on devices that children use.

14. What we do on our side

Our team watches for patterns such as rapidly rising deposits or play through the night, and gets in touch when something looks wrong. We may pause an account while we talk. We do not send offers to accounts in cooling-off or self-exclusion.

Other things that catch our attention include frequent cancelled withdrawals, repeated requests to raise limits, and messages to live chat that suggest distress. None of these means anything is definitely wrong. They are simply moments when a friendly check-in makes sense.

When we get in touch, we keep it friendly and private. We may ask how play is going, remind you of the tools available, or suggest a limit. Staff in customer-facing roles are trained to recognise signs of harm and to share the help services on this page.

15. Keeping play enjoyable

Casino games are designed for fun, and the results are random. Over time the house keeps an edge, so it helps to see each session as paid entertainment with a set budget.

Every game shows its return to player (RTP) in its info panel. RTP is a long-run average across a huge number of rounds, so any single session can land well above or below it. Checking it, along with how often a game tends to pay, helps you choose games that match the pace you like.

Mix things up, play at stakes that let your budget last, and enjoy the wins when they come. Bonuses are there to extend play, so read the terms before accepting one and skip it if the wagering does not suit you.

16. Talking to us about safer gambling

Questions about any tool, a limit you want changed or a break you want started can go to live chat at any hour, in English. You can also email our support team, and a member of staff will reply.

Say as much or as little as you like. We treat every safer gambling conversation confidentially, and nobody will try to talk you out of a limit or a break.