Account tools include deposit limits, loss limits, session reminders known as reality checks, time-outs and account closure. Regulators in Great Britain require operators to prompt customers to set a limit at registration or first deposit, and to apply a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours before any increase takes effect. Set them before a session, when your judgement is not being tested.
On this page
- When you must be prompted
- At registration, or at the first deposit or paymentSource 1
- Cooling-off on increases
- At least 24 hours, plus positive confirmation afterwardsSource 1
- Reality checks
- Customers must be able to set the frequency of an on-screen reminderSource 2
- Time-out durations
- 24 hours, one week, one month, up to a maximum of six weeksSource 4
Why the timing matters more than the tool
Every control on this page does something simple: it moves a decision earlier.
A limit set before a session is a decision made with a clear head. The same decision made mid-session is made by someone who has just lost money, which is exactly when judgement is least reliable. The regulatory design reflects that, which is why increases are deliberately slow and decreases are not.
The rest of this guide covers what each tool does, what regulators require, and when to set it.
The tools at a glance
| Tool | What it controls | When to set it |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit limit | Money paid in over a period1 | At registration |
| Loss limit | Winnings subtracted from amount spent1 | At registration |
| Reality check | An on-screen reminder during a session2 | Before the first session |
| Net position display | Session win or loss so far3 | Always on, in Great Britain |
| Time-out | A short break, account intact4 | When a session got away from you |
| Self-exclusion | A formal block, account closed5 | When stopping is the goal |
Deposit and loss limits
These are the two financial controls, and they are not interchangeable.
The technical standard in Great Britain describes deposit limits as "where the amount a customer deposits into their account is limited over a particular duration", and loss limits as "where the amount lost (that is, winnings subtracted from the amount spent) is restricted"1.
The difference matters when money is won and restaked. A deposit limit counts only what enters the account. A loss limit counts what actually goes, so it tracks the real cost of a session, including recycled winnings. Working out what that cost is likely to be is covered in working out the cost per hour.
The stated aim of the requirement is "to provide all customers with facilities to apply financial limits to their accounts to enable them to set and maintain a gambling budget that is suitable for their personal circumstances"1.
What operators must do
- Prompt you. "Customers must be prompted to set a limit as part of the registration process or at the point at which the customer makes the first deposit or payment"1.
- Delay increases. "Customer-led limits must only be increased at the customer's request, only after a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours has elapsed and only once the customer has taken positive action at the end of the cooling off period to confirm their request"1.
That second rule is the useful one. An increase requested in frustration requires a second, deliberate confirmation a day later, by which point the frustration has usually passed.
Time and reality checks
Time is harder to track than money, because nothing runs out.
The aim of the relevant standard is "to provide customers with facilities to assist them to keep track of the time they spend gambling"2. Operators must provide "easily accessible facilities that make it possible for customers to set a frequency at which they will receive and see on the screen a reality check within a gaming session"2.
Where a default interval is offered, it must be set at the minimum available2. Elapsed time "should be displayed for the duration of the gaming session", in seconds, minutes and hours2, and reality checks continue at the chosen interval until the session ends or the customer exits the account2.
A reality check only works if it is treated as a decision point. Dismissing it without reading it converts it into background noise.
Knowing where you actually are
One display does more work than any reminder. In Great Britain, "All gaming sessions must clearly display a customer's net position, in the currency of their account or product... since the session started", defined as "the total of all winnings minus the sum of all losses since the start of the session"3.
Balance is a misleading number, because it moves with every deposit. Net position is the honest one.
Time-outs and cooling-off
A time-out is a short break that leaves the account intact. Operators must offer one "for the following durations: 24 hours, one week, one month or such other period as the customer may reasonably request, up to a maximum of 6 weeks"4.
It suits the situation where a single session went further than planned and you want the option removed for a while without ending the relationship. If the goal is to stop rather than pause, self-exclusion is the correct tool.
Account closure and self-exclusion
Closing an account and self-excluding are not the same thing. A closed account can usually be reopened. Self-exclusion carries obligations on the operator.
Where a customer self-excludes in Great Britain, operators must "take all reasonable steps to refuse service" for the duration, must "close any customer accounts of an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement and return any funds held in the customer account", and must stop marketing to them, removing them from the relevant database within two days5.
National schemes extend this across operators. That, and the device and bank-level blocks that sit alongside it, are covered in bank gambling blocks.
Protections you do not have to switch on
Some controls are built into the product rather than the account. In Great Britain these include design rules that apply whether or not you set anything.
- Products "must not actively encourage customers to chase their losses, increase their stake or increase the amount they have decided to gamble, or continue to gamble after they have indicated that they wish to stop"6.
- A system "must not celebrate a return which is less than or equal to the total stake gambled"6.
- "Consumers must not be given the option to cancel their withdrawal request"6.
- Autoplay is not permitted: "The gambling system must require a customer to commit to each game cycle individually"7.
These rules apply in Great Britain. Other jurisdictions set their own, and some set none, so the same game can behave differently depending on where it is offered.
What operators must tell you
Licensees in Great Britain must make information readily available on how to gamble responsibly and how to access help8. That information must cover "any measures provided by the licensee to help individuals monitor or control their gambling, such as restricting the duration of a gambling session or the amount of money they can spend", "timers or other forms of reminders or 'reality checks' where available", self-exclusion options, and "information about the availability of further help or advice"8.
If those options are hard to find on a site, that is itself a signal, and one of the checks in recognising clone and phishing gambling sites.
Use them before, not during
A short sequence covers most of it.
- Set a deposit limit and a loss limit at registration, before the first payment1.
- Set a reality check at the shortest interval offered2.
- Decide the session length before starting, and treat the reality check as the stop signal.
- Read the net position figure rather than the balance3.
- If a session goes badly, take a time-out rather than requesting a limit increase4.
GambleAware's version is shorter: decide your spending limit before you gamble and commit to it, set a time limit, and walk away when the money set as the limit is gone9.
- Deposit limit
- A cap a customer sets on how much can be deposited into a gambling account over a period such as a day, week or month. Under Great Britain's rules, for example, reductions take effect immediately while increases require a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours.
- Self-exclusion
- A request to a gambling operator, or to a scheme covering several operators, to stop you gambling for a set period, usually between six months and five years.
If gambling is causing harm. Losses cannot be recovered by playing more, and no game offers a guaranteed return. Free, confidential support is available, including services you can reach from the Maldives.