Behindthewager The facts behind iGaming

Responsible gambling

Page reviewed: 2026-09-05

Gambling should be enjoyable, optional and within your means. If it stops being any of those things for you or someone you know, free, confidential support is available.

Get help now

  • National Gambling Helpline (GamCare) — free and confidential, 24/7: 0808 8020 133, or via gamcare.org.uk.
  • GAMSTOP — the UK's free national self-exclusion scheme. Registering at gamstop.co.uk blocks new sign-ups and access to existing accounts across every UK Gambling Commission-licensed online operator, for a period you choose (6 months, 1 year or 5 years). It does not cover operators licensed outside the UK.
  • NHS Gambling Harms Treatment Programme — from April 2026, NHS England commissions gambling-harm treatment services in England, funded by a new statutory levy on gambling operators; see NHS England's Gambling Harms Treatment Programme for current services and referral routes. Scotland and Wales have their own equivalent NHS-commissioned arrangements.

A note on how this space has recently changed

Until 2025–2026, the UK's main gambling-harm charity funder, GambleAware, coordinated much of this support. GambleAware entered a managed closure and ceased operating by 31 March 2026, as the government's new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect and commissioning responsibility moved to NHS England (and equivalent bodies in Scotland and Wales) for treatment, alongside the Gambling Commission/UKRI for research and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities for prevention. If you have seen older references to GambleAware or BeGambleAware, they may now point to a service that has since transitioned — the Gambling Commission's own site is a reliable place to find current signposting.

Tools most licensed operators provide

Look for these directly in your operator's account settings:

  • Deposit limits (daily/weekly/monthly)
  • Time-outs and temporary breaks
  • Self-exclusion (in addition to, not instead of, GAMSTOP)
  • Reality checks / session reminders

Whether a specific operator offers each of these, and how well, is recorded — where we've verified it — on that operator's review page.

Affiliate context

Behindthewager may in future receive commission from some operators we write about. That does not change the facts on this page, and it never will — see our Affiliate Disclosure.

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