Betting should cost you what a night out costs and feel about the same. When it starts doing something else — chasing, hiding, borrowing — the tools on this page exist to put a stop to it, and they work whether or not you feel ready to use them.
Tools in your account
All of these are self-service in Account Settings → Responsible Gaming. Reductions and stops take effect immediately. Increases carry a deliberate waiting period, so a decision made in a bad moment cannot be undone in the same one.
- Deposit limits — a cap per day, week or month. Once reached, no further deposit goes through until the period resets.
- Loss limits — a ceiling on net losses over a chosen period.
- Session reminders — a message showing how long you have been logged in and where you stand.
- Cooling-off — lock the account for 24 hours up to 6 weeks. Nothing is deleted; you simply cannot bet.
- Self-exclusion — 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or permanent. It cannot be reversed early, by you or by support, and marketing stops with it.
If you want to stop, use self-exclusion rather than willpower. It is designed to hold on the night when willpower does not.
Signs worth taking seriously
- Betting more than you planned, more often than you planned.
- Chasing losses — increasing stakes to win back what has gone.
- Gambling with money meant for rent, bills, food or school fees.
- Borrowing, selling things, or taking credit to fund play.
- Hiding how much you bet, or lying about it to people close to you.
- Betting to escape stress, low mood or boredom rather than for entertainment.
- Feeling irritable or restless when you try to cut down.
- Missing work, study or family commitments because of it.
Any one of these on its own is a signal. Several together mean it is time to use the tools above and talk to someone.
Practical habits
- Decide the amount before you start, and treat it as spent the moment you deposit.
- Set a deposit limit now, while it is easy, rather than during a losing run.
- Keep a clock in view; sessions run longer than they feel.
- Never bet to recover a loss. The loss has already happened.
- Do not gamble while drinking, or when angry, anxious or exhausted.
- Take real breaks — days, not minutes.
Protecting people under 18
Accounts are strictly 18+, and identity verification enforces it. If you share a device with children or teenagers, use device-level parental controls and blocking software, and never store your password where it can be found.
Getting help
Support exists and is free. In India, the Tele-MANAS mental health helpline is available on 14416, 24 hours a day in multiple languages, and can refer you onward for addiction support. Gamblers Anonymous runs meetings in several Indian cities and online, and organisations such as GamCare and Gambling Therapy offer free counselling and forums internationally.
Blocking software — Gamban, BetBlocker and similar — restricts access to gambling sites across all of your devices, and is worth installing alongside self-exclusion rather than instead of it.
If you are worried about someone else, the same helplines will talk to you. You do not have to be the person betting to ask for advice.