Gambling should be entertainment you can afford. When it stops being that, the tools below exist and they work.
Warning signs worth taking seriously: betting more than you planned to, chasing losses with larger stakes, borrowing money to play, hiding how much you gamble from people close to you, gambling to escape stress or low mood, and feeling irritable when you try to stop. Any one of those is worth pausing over. Several together is a reason to use the tools on this page today.
Free confidential help in the United States: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER, which operates 24 hours a day. The National Council on Problem Gambling at ncpgambling.org runs a chat service and a helpline directory. Gamblers Anonymous at gamblersanonymous.org lists meetings nationally and online. Gam-Anon supports family members, who are frequently affected first and served last.
Operator tools: every casino covered on this site offers deposit limits, loss limits, session reminders, cooling-off periods and self-exclusion. Set a deposit limit on the day you open an account rather than on the day you wish you had. A limit set in advance is far more effective than one set in the middle of a bad session.
Blocking software: Gamban, BetBlocker and GamBlock restrict access to gambling sites across your devices, and BetBlocker is free. These are worth installing alongside self-exclusion rather than instead of it.
Practical habits that help: decide your budget before you deposit and treat it as spent money. Never deposit to recover a loss. Keep gambling away from credit. Take real breaks. Do not play when tired, drinking or upset.
If somebody you care about is struggling, Gam-Anon and the 1-800-GAMBLER line both support family members directly. You do not need the gambler's permission to ask for advice.