Responsible gambling

Gambling should be a paid-for pastime with a fixed budget. If it is becoming more than that, this page is the most useful one on the site.

Set limits before you play

In your Mad Casino account settings you can set deposit limits, loss limits and session reminders, and request a cooling-off period or self-exclusion. Set them before your first deposit, when the decision is easiest. Reducing a limit normally takes effect immediately; raising one usually involves a waiting period.

GAMSTOP: what it covers and what it does not

GAMSTOP is the free national self-exclusion scheme for Great Britain. One registration excludes you from every online operator licensed by the Gambling Commission, for six months, one year or five years. It does not cover Mad Casino, which is licensed in Curaçao. If you want to stay away from offshore sites as well, combine GAMSTOP with the tools below.

Tools that reach offshore sites

• Bank gambling blocks. Most UK banks and card providers, including the major high-street banks and app-based banks, let you block gambling transactions from the app. It applies to any merchant coded as gambling, wherever it is licensed.
• Blocking software. Gamban and similar apps block access to thousands of gambling sites on your phone and computer.
• Operator self-exclusion. Ask Mad Casino’s support to close your account and exclude you. Do this alongside the tools above, not instead of them.

Warning signs

• Spending more time or money than you planned, more than once.
• Chasing losses, or depositing again to win back what you lost.
• Borrowing, using credit or skipping bills to gamble.
• Hiding gambling from people close to you.
• Feeling anxious or irritable when you are not gambling.

One sign is a reason to pause. Several are a reason to get support.

Where to get help

• GamCare: the National Gambling Helpline, 0808 8020 133, free, confidential, 24 hours a day, plus online chat.
• BeGambleAware: advice, self-assessment and referral at begambleaware.org.
• Gamblers Anonymous: free peer-support meetings across the UK, in person and online.
• NHS gambling clinics: specialist treatment through the NHS National Gambling Support Network. You can self-refer or ask your GP.
• Gam-Anon: support for family and friends affected by someone else’s gambling.

Money worries

If gambling has led to debt, free debt advice is available from StepChange and Citizens Advice. Do not take out credit to gamble or to cover gambling losses.

Under 18?

Gambling online is illegal for anyone under 18 in the UK. If you are a parent, device-level filters and parental controls can block gambling sites.

Questions people ask