Safer Gambling Week 2024

Gambling should always be regarded as entertainment as long as you are responsible. Safer Gambling Week 2024 encourages conversation to promote safer gambling. Whether you are an experienced bettor, new to gambling or working within the gaming industry, we want you to join us in the movement to educate about the importance of responsible gambling.

Safer Gambling - Tips and advice on how to gamble responsibly

We would like to share some tips on how to ensure gambling remains a fun activity. Firstly, you should ask yourself questions such as:

Can you afford the money you are gambling with?
Can you stop gambling when you want to?
Have you had to borrow money for gambling?
Do you keep your gambling a secret?
Do you ever argue with your partner, friends or family about gambling?
Have you lost interest in other activities you used to enjoy?
Are you always thinking about gambling?
Do you use gambling to get out of financial trouble?
Do you bet more to recover from losses?

If any of these apply to you, we recommend reading our tips below or getting in contact with one of GamCare's sources of support:

GamCare

Set deposit limits

Deposit limits are offered by bookmakers and are one of the most effective methods of gambling responsibly. You will have the option with your bookmaker account to set a limit on how much money you can deposit at a given time or over a certain period. You can decide how long you have to wait before making a deposit into your account and is typically any time from a day to a month. This ensures you are not spending beyond your means.

Take breaks

It is also sensible to monitor how often you are logging in and placing bets. If you find you are using a betting website or app on a daily basis or even a few times a week, we advise you to take breaks for days, weeks or even months. This will help you break the habitual cycle of betting and prevent you from chasing your losses.

Bookmakers tend to have a reminder feature on their sites and apps to give you the chance to take a break from betting and let you know how long you have been active on their site. This prompts you to sign-out of your account and step away from gambling.

Set times

To help you take these breaks, it is a good idea to limit how often you go online. For example, you may decide to designate a day of the week to log in. You can have a personal rule where you only allow yourself to login on a Friday and wait at least a week before going online again to limit your time online and be more responsible with your activity.

View your history

We strongly advise you to regularly check your betting history. It is very easy to hold an unconscious bias when betting ignoring your losses. By checking your history, you may learn that you are losing more money than you thought. This should give you the nudge you need to put on the brakes and be more careful with how much you are spending.

Read and understand all Terms and Conditions

Welcome offers can sometimes sound too good to be true and an easy way to make money. However, we urge you to read the small print before claiming the latest deal. All UK bookmakers stipulate terms and conditions for their offers clarifying exactly what you need to do in order to qualify for the offer and what you can expect in return. Not only do these terms and conditions provide a good insight into how the bookmaker operates, but it helps you to avoid any traps or misunderstandings when spending your money and staying in control of your betting.

Make sure the company is licensed

Before you gamble, you should always check to see if the company is licensed to ensure you are protected by consumer and gambling rules. Operators we promote on AceOdds are always fully licensed but not every website is as responsible. They must always display that they are licensed so you can see what gambling activities they are permitted to offer. Here is a helpful link to find this out.

Helpful Safer Gambling Links

• Safer Gambling
• GamCare
• Be Gamble Aware
• Take Time to Think
• GamStop
• Gambling Commission

Safer Gambling Helplines