Keeping Play Within Limits

Gambling should stay a paid form of entertainment, not a way to make money or recover losses. Decide before you deposit how much you can afford to lose, and treat that amount as spent. If you ever feel it has stopped being fun, free help is available on 0808 8020 133 from the National Gambling Helpline run by GamCare, around the clock by phone and live chat. In Wales the number is 0808 2819 265. You must be 18 or over to gamble in Great Britain.

Warning signs that are specific to bonus play

General advice is easy to agree with and hard to apply at the moment of a decision. Bonuses create pressures of their own, and the signs below are tied to figures a True Luck player meets.

• You deposit more than you planned so that a stage fills its ceiling. A €500 first deposit (about £422.40) earns the largest first-stage bonus, but the €20,000 of wagering that comes with it is a reason to hesitate, not a reason to deposit.
• You raise your stake towards the €5 maximum (about £4.20) per spin or round because the 7 days are running out. Wagering that is behind schedule is a cost already counted, not a debt to be won back.
• You deposit again soon after losing, to start a new stage or to reach the €50 minimum for a reload.
• You think about a bonus balance that is about to expire without compensation more than about the rest of your day.
• You hide the amount you play from the people close to you, or play instead of sleeping, working or looking after others.

If several of these fit, pause for at least a day and talk to someone, either a person you trust or the helpline.

Setting a budget that the bonus cannot change

Write down a weekly figure before the first deposit and keep it fixed whatever offers are available. A bonus is a percentage of what you deposit, so a bonus never lowers the amount you can lose. For a €30 deposit (about £25.30) the first stage adds €30 and 40x wagering means €1,200 of play, and the money at risk is still your €30 plus whatever you add.
Time works the same way. A bonus with a 7-day window invites long sessions, so decide in advance how long you will play in a sitting and stop when that time is up, whatever the wagering counter shows.

What three budgets mean in play

A limit is easier to hold when you can see what it commits you to. The first stage matches your deposit in full up to €500, and it always asks for 40 times the bonus.

Four thousand spins in 7 days is a great deal of play for a €500 deposit, a reason to choose the smaller budget and to leave a bonus unclaimed when the numbers do not fit your week.

Choosing a break that fits the problem

A short pause and a long exclusion suit different situations. If a single evening has gone badly, a time-out of 24 hours puts distance between you and the next deposit. If it keeps happening, a time-out of several weeks gives you time to look at what you spent. If you want gambling out of your life for a long stretch, self-exclusion runs from 1 day up to 5 years, and permanent exclusion is requested by e-mailing support. During self-exclusion you cannot open a new account.

The controls True Luck offers

The account carries these controls:

• Deposit limits that can be set daily, weekly or monthly. A lower limit takes effect at once, while a higher one is applied only after a waiting period.
• A loss limit for a period you choose.
• Stake and session limits.
• A time-out from 24 hours up to several weeks.
• Self-exclusion from 1 day to 5 years, during which a new account cannot be opened.
• Permanent self-exclusion, which you request by e-mailing support.

Set the deposit and loss limits before the first deposit, when you are calm, and not after a bad evening. Self-exclusion and the longest time-outs are best chosen away from the screen. Live chat at True Luck runs 24 hours a day if you need to ask how to set one. True Luck does not describe a cooling-off period or a reality-check reminder, so the clock you keep yourself matters: set a phone alarm for the session length you chose and stop when it rings.

Age checks

Age is checked by identity verification with an official ID, and an account suspected of belonging to a minor is blocked at once. If a young person has access to your phone or computer, keep your casino login and cards out of reach.

Splitting a €150 budget before the first deposit

The GamCare numbers at the top of this page are free and open around the clock. A budget is easier to hold when it is split before you start: of €150 (about £126.70), put €50 towards the first deposit and keep the rest of the €150 untouched, so that one bad evening cannot reach it, and do not top the deposit up from the reserve.

Money, debt and gambling

If you are borrowing to gamble, using money meant for rent, bills or food, or hiding losses, treat it as urgent and call the helpline today. Do not wait for the next payout to put things right: a payout of at least €40 (about £33.80) is not a plan, and a payout that is held until verification is complete does not repair a budget.