Responsible Gambling
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Gambling is entertainment that costs money. It is not a way to earn, not a way to recover a loss, and not something to do with money you need. This page lists what to watch for and where to get help in the United States. Our list for Responsible gambling is kept to operators that publish a licence number which can be checked against the regulator’s register.
The rules we write under
- You must be 21 or over to gamble at the casinos discussed on this site.
- What is legal depends on the state you play from, and the rules for casino games, sports betting and lotteries are not the same — see state gambling laws.
- No game on offer can be beaten over time. Every one of them carries a house edge, which is how the casino is paid.
Signs it has stopped being a game
- Playing with money meant for rent, food, bills or debt.
- Borrowing, selling or hiding things to keep playing.
- Raising the stake to win back what was lost — the single most expensive habit in gambling.
- Lying to people close to you about how much time or money has gone in.
- Playing to escape stress, boredom, loneliness or low mood.
- Relief when you play and irritability when you cannot.
One of these is worth taking seriously. Several together are a reason to use the tools below today rather than next month.
Tools worth setting before you need them
- Deposit limits — daily, weekly or monthly, set in the account before a session, not during one.
- Loss and wager limits — a ceiling on what a session can cost, independent of what it pays.
- Session time limits and reality checks — a reminder on the screen after a set number of minutes.
- Cool-off — a short lock on the account, from a day to a few weeks.
- Self-exclusion — a long block, from six months upwards, and in regulated states a single request can cover every licensed operator at once. How it works, and what it does not cover, is on our self-exclusion page.
Where to get help
The national problem gambling helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER. It is free, confidential and open around the clock, by call or text, and it routes to help in your own state. You do not need to have a diagnosis, a debt figure or a plan before you call.
Our guide to gambling addiction help in America covers what support exists beyond the helpline, and casino safety covers protecting the account itself.
Keeping it away from minors
Do not share an account or a device that stays logged in. Where children use the same device, a parental filter blocks gambling sites at the device level, which is more reliable than relying on each site's own age check.
If you are helping someone else
Do not cover the debt and do not take over the account. The helpline above takes calls from family members as well, and that is usually the better first step than a conversation about numbers.