Where to get help
If you are a United States resident and worried about your gambling, free and confidential help is available 24/7 from the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). The hotline supports text and chat as well as voice calls, so you can reach it in whatever format feels less intimidating. State-level programs are listed on the NCPG site under 'State Help Lines' and include trained counsellors who speak the local language and understand local regulations. International readers can reach Gamblers Anonymous online meetings, which run several times a day across time zones, or GamCare in the United Kingdom and Gambling Therapy for English speakers in any country. All of these services are free, confidential and anonymous. You do not need an account, you do not have to give your name, and nothing is reported to the gambling operator. If calling feels like too much, start with a chat window — most people who later recover from problem gambling say that reaching out once, in any format, was the most important step.
Parental control
If a minor shares a device with you, enable parental controls at the operating system level and block gambling sites in the browser. On iOS use Screen Time with the Content & Privacy Restrictions setting; on Android use Family Link; on Windows and macOS use the built-in Family or Screen Time features. Dedicated blocking software such as GamBan and Net Nanny covers all browsers at once and is a sensible option in a shared household.
Signs of problem
Problem gambling often starts quietly. Common early signs include spending more time or money on gambling than you had planned, chasing losses with larger stakes, hiding activity from family members, and borrowing money to continue playing. If any of these feels familiar, please pause before opening another Bet Mode session. Problem gambling is a recognised health issue; it is not a sign of weakness and it is treatable when caught early.
Limits and tools
The Bet Mode operator provides a set of player protection tools inside each account: daily and weekly deposit limits, session time limits, reality-check pop-ups at fixed intervals, loss limits per period and a self-exclusion toggle covering seven days, thirty days, six months or a permanent block. These tools are opt-in and need to be set up once; after that the operator enforces them automatically. We recommend configuring at least a deposit limit before placing a first bet.