Responsible gambling at Playojo

• PlayOJO
• PlayOJO Responsible gaming

Playojo offers a range of controls to help players stay in charge of their gambling — but those tools work best when you already have an honest picture of your own habits. This page is here to help you build that picture, whether you are playing regularly or just checking in on yourself.

Getting honest with yourself about gambling

Gambling works as entertainment when it is a choice, not a habit that runs on autopilot. The honest framing is straightforward: you put in money you can afford to lose, you enjoy the experience for what it is, and you stop when you said you would. When any one of those three things starts slipping, it is worth paying attention.

It does not take a crisis to take a closer look. Most people who develop a problem with gambling describe a gradual drift rather than a sudden change — sessions running a bit longer, stakes creeping up, a mild unease when not playing. Noticing the drift early is far easier than reversing it later.

Recognising behaviour that should worry you

The following patterns are not proof of a problem on their own, but any of them showing up consistently is a signal worth taking seriously:

• Spending more time or money than you planned, more than once
• Chasing losses — going back to win back what you lost
• Borrowing money, selling things, or dipping into savings to fund gambling
• Letting gambling cut into work, study, family time, or sleep
• Gambling to relieve stress, anxiety, or low mood rather than for fun
• Feeling irritable or restless when you try to cut down or stop

Checking in with yourself

Run through these questions honestly. A yes to one of them is not a diagnosis — it is a prompt to look a little closer.

1. Have you ever gambled with money set aside for bills or essential costs?
2. Have you gone back to gambling after a loss to try to recover it?
3. Have you ever hidden how much time or money you spend gambling from someone close to you?
4. Has gambling ever caused you to miss work, appointments, or social commitments?
5. Do you feel a strong urge to gamble when you are stressed, bored, or upset?
6. Have you ever felt that you need to gamble with larger amounts to get the same feeling?
7. Have you tried to cut back or stop and found it harder than expected?
8. Does the thought of stopping gambling make you feel anxious or low?

Playojo provides a self-assessment tool directly on the platform — it takes only a few minutes and can help you see patterns you might not notice day to day.

Using Playojo's controls to stay in charge

Playojo provides several tools you can set yourself without needing to contact anyone. Here is a summary of what is available and how each one works in practice:

Tool	Options available	How it works
Deposit limits	Daily, weekly, or monthly	Decreases take effect immediately; increases require a 24-hour cooling period before they apply
Game status reminder	Every 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes	A pop-up shows how long you have been playing, total bets placed, and payouts received during that session
Time limit control	A chosen interval of your choice	Automatically logs you out after the interval — contact Playojo's support team to set this up
Cooling-off	24 hours, 48 hours, or 7 days	Temporarily suspends access; useful when you need a short pause without committing to a longer break
Temporary suspension	30, 60, or 90 days	Locks the account for the chosen period — longer than cooling-off and suited to a more deliberate break
Self-exclusion	24 hours up to indefinite	Closes the account for the selected period; the indefinite option has no automatic end date

The deposit limit system has a built-in safeguard worth noting: if you decide to raise a limit you have already set, the increase does not come into force for 24 hours. That gap exists to give you time to reconsider, and it is one of the more practical design choices in the tool.

Finding support in the UK

Several free services are available to anyone in the UK who is concerned about their gambling, or worried about someone else's. You do not need to be in crisis to reach out — these organisations are there for questions and early conversations too.

• GamCare — the UK's leading gambling support charity. The National Gambling Helpline is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 0808 8020 133. Online chat and forum support are also available.
• BeGambleAware — free information, self-help tools, and referrals to specialist treatment.
• GamStop — a free national self-exclusion scheme. Registering with GamStop blocks you from all UK-licensed gambling sites simultaneously, in one step.
• Gordon Moody — residential and online treatment programmes for people with serious gambling problems.

Blocking software

If you want a technical layer on top of account-level controls, blocking software works at the device level and covers sites you have not individually opted out of. Gamban blocks gambling sites across all apps and browsers on your devices. BetBlocker is free, works across multiple platforms, and takes only a few minutes to set up.

Giving yourself a break — and what that looks like

Taking a break from gambling is not a dramatic step. A cooling-off period of 24 or 48 hours is there for exactly the kind of moment where you want to step back without making a long-term commitment. The temporary suspension and self-exclusion options exist for when a longer pause makes more sense.

Worth remembering: if you self-exclude through Playojo and also register with GamStop, you extend that break across every licensed platform, not just one. The two systems complement each other rather than overlap.

Protecting younger people at home

You must be 18+ to gamble at Playojo. If you share a device with a younger person, parental control software adds a meaningful layer of protection beyond account-level age verification. Tools such as Net Nanny and Qustodio can restrict access to gambling sites across a shared device regardless of which browser or app is used.

Gambling should be entertainment, not a chore. If it ever stops feeling that way, the services above are a good place to start — and starting the conversation early is always easier than waiting.

For questions about this page or its content, you can reach the editorial team at [email protected].

Everything on this page is informational and promotional in nature – we don't run a casino, a bookmaker or any gambling operation ourselves. Access is limited to those 18 and over (18+). If gambling ever stops feeling like fun, BeGambleAware.org offers free, confidential support.