Playing responsibly: the tools and the number

Every game at every casino has a house edge. It is not a fraud and not a fault but the price of the entertainment — and it means that over enough rounds the stake shrinks. Gambling is an expense, not an income.

Anyone keeping that in mind makes different decisions from somebody waiting for things to even out. They do not even out: every round starts at zero and knows nothing of the one before it.

• A deposit limit. Set it before the first deposit, not after the fifth. At most houses a reduction takes effect at once and an increase only after a waiting period — that is deliberate, and it helps.
• A loss limit and a session limit. They work faster than a deposit limit, because they end the session in progress.
• A time-out. Close an account for days or weeks without giving it up.
• Self-exclusion. The final form, for when the rest is not holding. At most houses it is irreversible for the period chosen, which is the point of it.

1. The stake rises, so that the game still feels like something.
2. Losses are to be won back in the same sitting.
3. Money meant for something else gets staked.
4. The size of the stakes is made smaller in front of others than it is.
5. Stopping is harder than starting — every time.

One of these points is not yet a finding. Three are.

This site is not a casino and not a counselling service. It cannot replace an assessment and does not want to. What it can do is put the number where it will be found.

And one sentence that stands on no casino's own site: stopping is possible at any time. Closing an account costs nothing, takes minutes and needs no reason.