Help with gambling, free and confidential

The one thing worth internalising

Gambling is paid entertainment, not income. Every product on every operator covered by this site is built so that the operator wins over time. That is not a scandal and it is not hidden; it is arithmetic, and it is how the industry funds itself.

It means any plan that involves gambling to make money, recover a loss, or cover a bill is a plan that will make the situation worse. If that is the reason you are about to deposit, the deposit is the problem rather than the solution.

Signs worth acting on early

• Betting more than you decided to, or more often than you decided to.
• Chasing a loss with a larger stake to get back to level.
• Play affecting bills, rent, groceries, work, school, sleep or relationships.
• Borrowing to fund play, or moving money that was committed to something else.
• Hiding how much you play, or lying about it when asked.
• Feeling you need to play to feel normal, or feeling irritable when you cannot.

Any one of those is a reason to call. None of them requires you to have lost a large amount first.

Tools every licensed operator has to offer

These are not favours. They are conditions of a South African licence, and they are in the account settings of every operator on this site.

• Deposit limits. A cap on what you can put in per day, week or month. Set it when you open the account, when you are calm, rather than later when you are not.
• Time-outs. A short lock on the account, typically 24 hours to a few weeks.
• Self-exclusion. A long or permanent block. It cannot be reversed on impulse, which is the entire point of it.
• Reality checks. A periodic on-screen reminder of how long you have been playing.

Raising a deposit limit normally takes effect after a cooling-off delay, while lowering one takes effect immediately. If an operator makes it easier to raise a limit than to lower it, that is worth knowing about the operator.

Under 18

Gambling in South Africa is restricted to adults aged 18 and over. Nothing on this site is for anyone younger, and no licensed operator can lawfully open an account for them. Registration requires a South African ID number, which is checked against the stated age.

If you are worried about someone else

The NRGP helpline takes calls from family members and friends, not only from players. You do not need the person's permission to ask for advice about how to talk to them, and you do not need to have proof of how much they have lost.