Responsible gambling

• Only gamble with money you can afford to lose. Not rent, bills, savings or borrowed money.
• Set a budget and a time limit before you start, and stop when you reach either one, win or lose.
• Never chase losses. Trying to win back what you lost is the most common way small losses become big ones.
• Do not gamble when stressed, upset, lonely or after drinking. Judgement about money suffers first.
• Treat any win as luck, not income. Withdraw some of it rather than playing it all back.
• Keep other things in your day. Gambling should fit around work, sleep, people and hobbies, not replace them.
• Be careful with fast games and auto-bet. Games such as Crash, Limbo or Plinko can run hundreds of bets in minutes.
• Do not chase VIP levels or promotions. Rewards return a small share of what you wager; see our Stake VIP guide.

Stake provides account tools for controlling your play. Exact menu names change, but they sit in your account settings (look for responsible gambling or limits), and live chat can set any of them for you.

Deposit limits

Cap how much you can deposit per day, week or month. Pick a figure that matches your entertainment budget, not your bank balance. A limit that you can raise instantly is not much of a limit, so expect a waiting period before an increase takes effect; decreases apply straight away.

Loss and wager limits

Where available, these cap how much you can lose or bet over a set period. They are useful if you top up in one go but tend to play the whole balance.

Session reminders

Set a timer on your phone, or use any reality-check option offered, so you see how long you have been playing. Time passes faster than you think in fast games.

Ask support

If you cannot find a tool, or want a limit set in a way you cannot undo on impulse, contact live chat or email. If you have a VIP host, they can set limits too and are expected to help.

Crypto makes depositing very easy. If that convenience is a problem, a deposit limit matters even more. Our deposit guides for Bitcoin, Litecoin and USDT are for players who have already set one.

Self-exclusion closes access to your account for a long period. According to Stake's self-exclusion policy:

• An indefinite self-exclusion lasts a minimum of six months.
• Your account is not reopened automatically when that time has passed. Reopening needs a written request and an internal review.
• During self-exclusion you cannot access your account and are not eligible for bonuses, rewards or reloads.
• Wagers, reward funds and promotion entries during the exclusion are forfeited and are not reinstated if the account is later reopened.
• If you cannot start self-exclusion yourself, live chat or email will do it for you.

Before you self-exclude, withdraw any balance you want to keep. Then ask support to confirm the exclusion in writing.

Make it stick

Self-exclusion on one site does not cover others. To protect yourself more widely:

• Install gambling-blocking software on your phone and computer, such as Gamban (paid) or BetBlocker (free).
• Ask your bank whether it offers a gambling block on your cards; many do.
• Unsubscribe from gambling emails and leave gambling Telegram groups and forums.
• Tell someone you trust, so you are not handling it alone.
• In some countries there are national self-exclusion schemes (for example GAMSTOP in Great Britain) that cover licensed local operators. They do not cover offshore sites like Stake, so use Stake's own exclusion as well.

Problem gambling usually grows slowly. Any of these, in yourself or someone close to you, is worth taking seriously:

• Spending more time or money than you planned, more often than not.
• Needing to bet more to get the same excitement.
• Chasing losses, or feeling you have to win back what you lost.
• Borrowing money, using credit, or selling things to gamble.
• Hiding gambling or lying about it to people close to you.
• Feeling anxious, irritable or low when you are not gambling, or when you try to cut down.
• Gambling to escape problems, stress or low mood.
• Missing work, study, sleep or family time because of gambling.
• Thinking about gambling most of the day.

If you recognise several of these, talk to someone now. Help is free, confidential, and does not require you to stop completely before you ask.

These services are free and confidential. Details were checked in October 2026; if a number has changed, the organisation's website has the current one.

• Gambling Therapy (international): free online support, live chat, forums and group sessions in many languages, run by the charity Gordon Moody. A good first step wherever you live.
• Gamblers Anonymous (international): peer support meetings worldwide, in person and online. The UK site is gamblersanonymous.org.uk.
• Gam-Anon (international): support meetings for family and friends of people who gamble.
• GamCare (UK): runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, free and open 24 hours a day, plus live chat.
• BeGambleAware (UK): advice and self-assessment tools. The charity behind it, GambleAware, closed in March 2026 as UK funding moved to a statutory levy, and the website was kept running during the handover; GamCare's helpline is the most direct UK contact.
• National Council on Problem Gambling (USA): the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline connects you with help in your state, by phone, text or chat.

Outside these countries, Gambling Therapy can point you to local services, and your doctor can refer you to treatment. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, contact your local emergency number straight away.