Gambling should stay entertainment, not turn into something you dread logging into. If it stops feeling like a choice or starts affecting your sleep, your bills or your relationships, it's worth pausing and reading what's below.
Why this matters
We run a platform where money changes hands quickly. That speed is part of the appeal when you're playing for fun, but it's also what makes things go wrong fast when control slips. The mechanics — the spins, the odds, the near-misses — are designed to keep you engaged, and that design works exactly as intended. Understanding that is the first step to staying in charge.
Gambling is a form of paid entertainment, like a cinema ticket or a gig. The money you put in buys the experience, not a guaranteed return. Some sessions end ahead, most don't. If you've started thinking of it as income or a way to fix a shortfall, that's when the entertainment part has already gone.
Signs gambling is getting out of hand
These aren't vague warnings. They're behaviours that show up reliably when gambling stops being recreational:
- Chasing losses — depositing again immediately after a losing session to try to win back what you just lost.
- Lying about how much you've spent, or hiding transactions from someone you live with.
- Borrowing money to gamble, or using money earmarked for rent, bills or groceries.
- Feeling irritable or restless when you can't play, or thinking about gambling when you're supposed to be doing something else.
- Playing to escape stress or low mood, rather than for the game itself.
- Neglecting work, studies or family time because you're logged in.
If more than one of these describes your last few weeks, it's not about willpower. It's about a pattern that needs interrupting, and that starts with recognising it.
Questions worth asking yourself
A short self-check, answered honestly when nobody else is looking:
- Have you ever lied to someone about how much you gambled or lost?
- Do you gamble until your balance is zero, even when you planned to stop earlier?
- Have you borrowed money, sold something or missed a bill payment to keep playing?
- Does gambling make you feel guilty, anxious or ashamed afterwards?
- Have you tried to cut down or stop, and found you couldn't?
- Do arguments at home often start because of your gambling?
- Have you thought about self-harm or felt hopeless because of gambling losses?
These aren't diagnostic questions, but if you've answered yes to several of them, speaking to someone trained in gambling support — not a friend trying to be helpful, but someone who knows the patterns — is the practical next step.
Our control tools
We offer self-exclusion via email. You write to [email protected] to request it, and once processed your account is closed for a minimum period you specify. During that time you cannot log in, deposit or reverse the exclusion. It's a hard stop, not a pause you can undo when the urge hits at 2am.
Self-exclusion works when you've decided you need to stop completely, at least for a set stretch. It does not work as a way to calm down after a bad session and then reopen the account a week later. The point is the barrier: you're locked out, and getting back in requires waiting out the full term and then actively contacting us to reopen. That friction is the tool.
We do not publish deposit limits, loss limits, session timers or reality checks that you can set directly in your account. If you need those controls and they matter to your ability to play safely, consider that absence before depositing. The external blocking software below gives you enforceable limits we do not.
Practical limits that work
Advice for keeping gambling recreational, from patterns that reliably prevent trouble:
- Decide the amount before you log in. Not a rough figure — the exact number you can afford to lose that session, worked out when you're calm. Once it's gone, you're done for the day.
- Set a kitchen timer for 30 or 45 minutes. When it rings, stand up and leave the room for at least ten minutes. The break interrupts the loop.
- Never gamble on credit. No credit cards, no overdrafts, no borrowing. If the money isn't already in your account as disposable income, it doesn't go near a casino.
- Don't chase. After a losing session, the single most important thing you can do is close the tab and not reopen it that day. The urge to win it back is the reddest flag there is.
- Keep separate accounts. One for bills and essentials, one for everything else. Gambling money comes from the second account only, and you never move money from the first to cover it.
Where to get help in the UK
Free, confidential support is available whether you're worried about your own gambling or someone else's:
National Gambling Helpline — 0808 8020 133, free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Run by GamCare (gamcare.org.uk), which also offers live chat, forums and face-to-face counselling.
BeGambleAware (begambleaware.org) provides online tools, a treatment finder and guides for people affected by someone else's gambling.
GamStop (gamstop.co.uk) is a free national self-exclusion scheme covering all UK-licensed gambling sites. Register once and you're blocked from all of them for six months, one year or five years. It does not cover sites operating outside UK regulation.
Gordon Moody (gordonmoody.org.uk) runs residential treatment programmes and online courses for people with serious gambling problems.
Blocking software
Gamban (gamban.com) blocks access to gambling sites and apps across all your devices — phone, tablet, laptop. It cannot be turned off or bypassed during the block period you set. Subscription-based.
BetBlocker (betblocker.org) does the same job, free, and works on computers, phones and tablets. It's maintained by a charity and takes about five minutes to install.
Both tools block tens of thousands of gambling domains. They are more effective than browser extensions, which are easy to disable in a weak moment.
Protecting minors
Access to Spinanga is restricted to players aged 18 and over (18+). If you share a device with anyone younger, gambling sites stay accessible unless you actively block them. Parental control software like Net Nanny or Qustodio can filter gambling content at the router or device level, so children do not stumble into sites like ours through search or ads.
Gambling should be entertainment, not an obligation. If it stops feeling that way, the resources above exist precisely for that moment. Using them isn't admitting failure — it's the practical thing to do when the entertainment part has gone.
For questions about our platform or this policy, contact [email protected].
Access to this site is restricted to persons aged 18 and over (18+). We want your play to stay enjoyable — for free, confidential support, visit BeGambleAware.org.