Responsible gambling
This site carries links to licensed sportsbooks and earns money when a reader opens an account through one of them. That gives us a duty to be straight with you about what betting is and is not.
Betting is entertainment that costs money. It is not income, it is not a way out of a shortfall, and no tipster, model or ranking on this site changes the fact that the operator holds a margin on every market it prices. If you are betting to win back something you have lost, stop and use one of the services listed below.
Signs worth taking seriously
- Betting more than you set out to spend, or more often than you meant to.
- Chasing a loss with a bigger stake.
- Borrowing money, or selling something, to fund a bet.
- Hiding how much you bet from people close to you.
- Betting getting in the way of work, study, sleep or relationships.
- Feeling anxious, low or irritable when you are not betting.
Tools every operator on this site must offer
Before we list a sportsbook we check that these controls exist in account settings and are not buried behind a support request.
- Deposit limits set per day, week or month. Reductions apply immediately.
- Loss and stake limits capping exposure over a period you choose.
- Time outs locking the account for 24 hours up to six weeks.
- Self exclusion for six months or longer, which cannot be reversed early.
- Reality checks interrupting a session at an interval you set.
- Account closure available without having to justify it.
National self exclusion schemes
These block you across every operator in the scheme at once, not just the one you are signed up to.
- United Kingdom: GAMSTOP
- Ireland: Gambling Care
- Australia: BetStop
- United States: state schemes run through NCPG
- South Africa: SARGF
Free confidential help
- United Kingdom National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133, free, 24 hours. BeGambleAware and GamCare.
- United States 1800GAMBLER, free, 24 hours. National Council on Problem Gambling.
- Ireland Gambling Care 1800 936 725.
- Australia Gambling Help 1800 858 858, free, 24 hours.
- South Africa National Responsible Gambling Programme 0800 006 008.
- Canada ConnexOntario 1 866 531 2600.
- Worldwide Gamblers Anonymous runs meetings in most countries.
Age restrictions
You must be at least 18 to use any betting link on this site, and at least 21 in several US states. Nothing here is aimed at anyone under that age. If you share a device with a child, blocking software such as Gamban or GamBlock restricts access to gambling sites.
What we will not publish
We do not describe a bet as guaranteed, risk free or a sure thing, because no bet is any of those. We do not present betting as a solution to money trouble, a route to income, or a mark of status. We do not target anyone under legal age. Where a promotion is restricted or prohibited in a market, we do not show it to readers in that market.
If you think something we have published falls short of this, write to [email protected] and we will look at it.