Responsible gambling

People budget by what they deposit and lose by what they stake. At ninety rounds an hour a 1.00 bet is 90 across the table every hour, and the house edge works on the 90 rather than on your balance. Two hours at 2.00 a round is 360 of turnover.

• Deposit limits. Daily or weekly, set while calm.
• Reality checks. A prompt every 30 or 60 minutes.
• Session and loss limits. The table stops you instead of you stopping yourself.
• Time out. A cooling-off period from 24 hours to several weeks.
• Self-exclusion. Longer and harder to reverse, at one operator or across a market.

• Playing longer or higher than planned, repeatedly
• Depositing again after deciding you had finished
• Playing to recover losses rather than for entertainment
• Hiding how much you play or what it costs
• Money meant for something else ending up in an account
• Sleep, work or relationships taking the hit

• BeGambleAware — advice and treatment referral
• GamCare — free helpline and live chat
• Gambling Therapy — international, many languages
• Gamblers Anonymous — peer support worldwide

Outside these regions most national regulators publish a list of local services. Your doctor is also a reasonable first call and a completely ordinary one to make.