Warning signs

  • Betting more than you planned, or more than you can afford to lose.
  • Chasing losses: betting again to win back what you lost.
  • Borrowing money, or using money meant for bills, to bet.
  • Hiding your betting from people close to you.
  • Feeling anxious, irritable or low when you aren’t betting.
  • Thinking about betting most of the time.

If any of these sound familiar, it’s worth talking to someone. The services below are free and confidential.

Staying in control

  • Set a budget before you start and treat it as the cost of entertainment, not money you expect back.
  • Use the site’s own tools. Most betting sites offer deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion in the account settings or through their support team.
  • Take care with in-play tennis. Prices move point by point, which makes it easy to bet far more often than you meant to.
  • Never bet with borrowed money, and never bet to pay off a debt.
  • Take breaks, and don’t bet when you’re upset, tired or have been drinking.

Blocking tools

  • Blocking software. BetBlocker is a free app that blocks gambling sites on your phone and computer.
  • Your bank. Many UK and Irish banks and card providers let you block gambling payments in their app.

None of the six sites we compare holds a licence from the Gambling Commission, the regulator in Great Britain, so look at each site’s own limits and self-exclusion settings before you deposit.

Free, confidential help

National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133

Run by GamCare, free and open 24 hours a day in the UK. You can also chat online at gamcare.org.uk.

  • BeGambleAware (begambleaware.org): advice, self-assessment and links to free treatment in Great Britain.
  • Gamblers Anonymous (gamblersanonymous.org.uk): local and online meetings run by people who have been through it.
  • Ireland: GamblingCare, 1800 936 725, 24 hours a day.
  • Anywhere: Gambling Therapy (gamblingtherapy.org) offers free online support in several languages.

In England, the NHS runs specialist gambling clinics. Its help for problems with gambling page explains that you can refer yourself or ask a GP, and that the clinics also support family and friends.

Under 18s

Betting is for adults only. If children use your phone or computer, parental-control settings and blocking software can keep them away from gambling sites.