Safer
gambling
If gambling has stopped being fun, help is free, confidential and available right now. This page has the numbers that matter and honest advice on staying in control.
Need to talk now?
National Gambling Helpline
0808 8020 133Free · Confidential · 24 hours a day, every day
The games here are free and involve no money
Joe Coins are earned by watching. They cannot be bought, sold, transferred or withdrawn, and they have no monetary value whatsoever. Nothing you do on this site can cost you a penny, and nothing you win here can be turned into cash. The scratch cards are a game — nothing is staked and nothing of value can be lost.
Those are real-money gambling. Real losses.
The offers on our casinos page are advertisements for licensed real-money operators, and we earn a commission when someone signs up through them. They are strictly for over-18s, every one of them has a built-in house edge, and money you deposit there can be lost for good. Please treat that side of things completely differently to the free games here.
Free, confidential, and it works
None of these organisations are connected to this site or to any casino. They cost nothing, they will not tell anybody, and thousands of people go to them every week.
National Gambling Helpline
Operated by GamCare
Free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Talk to a trained adviser by phone or live chat — you do not need to have hit rock bottom to call, and they will not judge you.
GAMSTOP
Free national self-exclusion
One free registration blocks you from every online gambling site licensed in Great Britain, for six months, one year or five years. You cannot undo it during the period you choose — which is exactly the point.
BeGambleAware
Advice, tools and treatment referral
Plain-English guidance on how gambling products are designed, self-assessment tools, and a route into free NHS-funded treatment through the National Gambling Support Network.
GamCare
Counselling and structured support
Free one-to-one treatment, group sessions and forums for anyone affected by gambling — including partners, parents and friends of someone who is struggling.
Gamblers Anonymous
Peer support meetings
Free fellowship meetings across the UK and Ireland, in person and online, run by people who have been through it themselves. Gam-Anon runs alongside it for family members.
Gamban
Blocking software
Software that blocks gambling apps and websites across all your devices. It is available free of charge to people in Great Britain through GamCare’s TalkBanStop partnership.
Set your limits
before you need them
Nobody ever set a sensible limit halfway through a losing session. Do it while your head is clear and it will still be there when it is not.
Decide the number before you open the app
Pick what you can genuinely afford to lose this month — money that would not change anything if it vanished. Write it down. A limit you set in the moment is not a limit, it is a mood.
Use the operator’s own tools
Every UK-licensed casino has deposit limits, loss limits, session reminders and time-outs built in. Set them on day one, while you are calm. Lowering a limit is instant; raising one takes 24 hours by law.
Never chase a loss
The single most expensive habit there is. A bad session does not owe you anything back, and doubling up to fix it is how a bad night becomes a bad year. Close it and walk.
Keep it separate from real money
No credit cards — they have been banned for gambling in Great Britain since 2020 for good reason. Do not gamble with money set aside for bills, rent or anyone else.
Watch the clock, not just the balance
Time disappears faster than money does. Set a session alarm on your phone and honour it, even when you are up.
Do not gamble to feel better
If you are reaching for it when you are stressed, bored, low or drinking, that is the warning light. Gambling is a poor painkiller and an expensive one.
Signs it has stopped being a bit of fun
If you recognise even one or two of these in yourself — or in somebody close to you — it is worth a phone call. Nothing has to have gone badly wrong yet.
- Spending more than you meant to, more often than you meant to
- Chasing losses to try and get back to even
- Borrowing money, selling things or hiding what you have spent
- Lying to family or friends about how much you gamble
- Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut back
- Gambling to escape stress, loneliness or low mood
- Missing work, sleep or plans because of it
- Being told by someone who loves you that they are worried
“I show the wins because they are the fun bit. You do not see the pile of cards that came to nothing. Please keep that in your head when you are watching — and never, ever play with money you need.”
— Joe
Scratch Card Joe is for over-18s only. We are not a gambling operator and we do not take bets or deposits. The organisations listed on this page are independent of us and of every casino advertised on this site. If you are outside the UK, search for the national gambling helpline in your own country — most have one, and it will be free.