Scores are never for sale.

United States

18+

Keep it a game.

A bet should cost what a night out costs: money you can afford to lose and time you’d happily spend. When it stops feeling like that, the help below is free, confidential and doesn’t judge.

Help in the United States Somewhere else? →

National Problem Gambling Helpline

National Council on Problem Gambling · Free · 24/7 · call, text or chat

1-800-522-4700 still works too.

Call 1-800-MY-RESET Chat online
Your state’s list

There is no national list: each state runs its own. The helpline can point you to yours.

01

Signs it’s stopped being fun

  1. Betting more to get the same buzz
  2. Chasing losses: “one more to win it back”
  3. Hiding bets or losses from people close to you
  4. Borrowing, or using money meant for bills
  5. Betting to escape stress, boredom or a bad mood
  6. Thinking about betting at work, in bed, all day

One or two sound familiar? That’s the moment to use the tools below, not after things get worse.

Not sure? Take the 1-minute self-testNine questions used by helplines worldwide. Nothing is saved or sent.
02

Tools that actually work

Licensed bookmakers have to offer most of these. Set them up on a calm day, before you bet, not after a loss.

Deposit limits

A cap per day, week or month. Lowering it works at once; raising it means a cooling-off wait, so a bad night can’t undo it.

21 bookmakers in the United States offer it

Time-out

Lock your account for a day up to several weeks. Good for a big tournament or a bad run.

20 bookmakers in the United States offer it

Self-exclusion

Closed for months or for good, and it can’t be undone early. Where there is a national scheme, one sign-up covers every licensed site.

23 bookmakers in the United States offer it

Blocking apps

Block betting sites on your phone and computer, including ones without a local licence. BetBlocker is free; Gamban is paid.

Get BetBlocker (free) →

The counts come from our own check of each bookmaker’s site and update by themselves.

03

Worried about someone else?

Talk, don’t trap

Pick a calm moment and say what you’ve noticed and how it affects you. Don’t pay off their debts: it usually keeps the betting going.

Support for you too

Helplines and groups are open to partners, parents and friends, even if the person betting isn’t ready.

Gambling Therapy: family and friends →
04

Help in other countries

Helplines and self-exclusion in 20 countries

Anywhere else: Gambling Therapy, free online help in many languages.

05

Our side of it

What Bookies Guide itself does on every page. Not promises: things you can check.

  • The legal age for your country, on every page

    Shown at the top: 18+ where you are. Where the law says 21, so do we.

  • Only legal bookmakers where the law says so

    In countries that allow only local licences, those are the only ones we list.

  • No bonuses where advertising them is banned

    There, you won’t see a single welcome offer on this site.

  • Safer-gambling tools count in every Trust Score

    No deposit limits, time-out or self-exclusion means a lower score. How we score

Under the legal age? Please leave this site. Parents: the parental controls built into phones and home routers can block betting sites.

Help details checked on October 31, 2026. Seen one that has changed? Tell us.