Support, and the plain facts behind it
Everything on this page is free to use and independent of both Stakes and Spades and the operators we list.
We will start with the thing a comparison site is least likely to tell you. Casino games carry a built-in margin for the operator. Over enough spins or hands that margin decides the outcome, which is why gambling is a paid entertainment product and not an income. If anyone — a forum post, a video, a site that looks a bit like this one — offers you a system that beats it, they are wrong or they are selling something.
That framing matters, because most gambling harm starts with treating losses as a debt to be recovered rather than money already spent. Nothing on this page is a lecture. It is a list of what exists, what it covers, and how to reach it.
Four organisations worth knowing
None of these are connected to us or to any operator on this site. All four cost nothing to use.
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GamCare
Runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, answered at any hour, with web chat and free treatment referrals across Britain.
gamcare.org.uk
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GAMSTOP
National online self-exclusion. One free registration blocks every site licensed in Britain for six months, one year or five years.
gamstop.co.uk
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GambleAware
Plain-language information, a self-assessment tool and a directory of support across England, Scotland and Wales.
gambleaware.org
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UK Gambling Commission
The regulator for Great Britain. Check whether a site is licensed, read the rules operators work under, or report one that isn't following them.
gamblingcommission.gov.uk
How GAMSTOP actually works
You register once, free, with your name, date of birth and contact details. Those details are then matched against accounts at every operator licensed to offer online gambling in Britain — existing accounts as well as new sign-ups — and you choose a minimum period of six months, one year or five years.
It cannot be shortened once it has started. That is the feature, not a limitation: a block you can lift at two in the morning is not a block. When the period ends it stays in place until you actively contact GAMSTOP to remove it, and there is a cooling-off delay even then.
What it does not cover is worth being clear about. GAMSTOP applies to online operators licensed in Britain, so it does not reach betting shops, land-based casinos, or sites operating outside British licensing. If a site invites you in while you are registered, that is a very loud signal about whether it is licensed here at all.
For high-street venues, ask about their own self-exclusion arrangements directly — bookmakers and casinos run multi-operator schemes covering an area.
What the licence guarantees you
Conditions every licensed British site must meet
- Age and identity verified before you play, not after — an unverified account cannot start a game.
- Limits you set yourself, applied by the operator, with tightening immediate and loosening delayed.
- Time-outs of a day, a week or a month available on request without giving a reason.
- Self-exclusion with that operator for a minimum of six months, including a stop on marketing to you.
- Connection to GAMSTOP, so one national registration covers them.
- Free alternative dispute resolution if a complaint cannot be settled with the operator directly.
- Slot rules in force since 2021: no autoplay, a minimum 2.5-second spin, no celebratory sounds for a return below the stake, and no running several slots at once.
Any site that cannot show you a licence number linking back to the Commission's public register is not offering you any of the above.
If you're worried about someone else
You do not have to be the person gambling to get support, and you are not an unusual case — a large share of the people contacting these services are partners, parents, adult children and friends.
GamCare's helpline takes calls from affected others on the same number, 0808 8020 133. Gam-Anon runs peer support groups for family and friends, meeting alongside Gamblers Anonymous, and GambleAware's directory lists local services including options for people supporting somebody else.
One practical note: you cannot self-exclude on another adult's behalf. GAMSTOP registration has to come from the person themselves. What you can do is talk about it early, and know that the free services above will help you work out how.