How can I keep my gambling under control without quitting?
Decide the amount and the time before you open a gambling app, and let one person know the real number. B4GAMBLE (Before Gamble) is a free 10-step programme that helps adults keep online gambling under control without having to quit. Its ten short steps help you set those rules and keep them in a plan you can review; if gambling already hurts your money, your sleep or your relationships, a self-exclusion is the better first step.
What real control looks like
Control is not a feeling in the moment. It is three things you decide while you are calm:
The amount, before the app
One number, decided before you open the app, not while you play. Money for bills is never part of it.
The time, before the app
When you start and when you stop, decided in advance. When the time is up you stop, whatever the balance.
One person knows
Someone you trust knows the real number: what you spend and how often. One person is enough.
You don't have to quit. You have to be in control.
The ten steps
The Programme's steps in the order you take them. Most take 5–8 minutes and end with something you keep.
- Map the moment
Map one recent decision moment and build your Starting Point.
- Set a 7-day goal
Turn your Starting Point into one small seven-day experiment.
- Know who to turn to
Choose one person or one help service, and plan the first 10 minutes of an urge.
- Understand the urge
Notice the sequence early enough to create a choice point.
- Build one boundary
Make one boundary specific enough to use under pressure.
- Check before deciding
Put three practical checks between an impulse and a decision.
- Add friction
Make the fast route less automatic with one or two practical layers.
- Prepare support
Prepare a support route without needing to disclose a person's identity.
- Rehearse the decision
Practise one response before the decision is live.
- Make the plan reviewable
Bring the useful parts together and decide when to review them.
No step links to a casino, a bonus or an offer, and none asks you to deposit or play.
When control is not the right goal
If gambling already hurts your money, your sleep or your relationships, or you have tried to cut down and could not, a pause is the right first step, not a plan to keep playing. A self-exclusion stops licensed sites from letting you play, and a helpline is free.
- GAMSTOPFree self-exclusion from gambling websites and apps licensed in Great Britain.
- National Gambling Helpline – 0808 8020 133Free, 24 hours a day, run by GamCare. In Wales: 0808 2819 265.
- Sweden: Spelpaus.se · Stödlinjen 020-81 91 00
- Denmark: ROFUS · StopSpillet 70 22 28 25
Start with step 1
Free and private. You need no account to begin; you create one only when you want to save your Starting Point and carry on.
Start step 1 nowQuestions people ask
- What does gambling with control mean?
- The amount and the time are decided before you play and kept, and someone else knows the real number. If you keep breaking your own limits, that is the sign to pause instead, with a self-exclusion and a helpline.
- What does B4GAMBLE do, exactly?
- It is a free programme of ten short steps. You describe what happens, set a 7-day goal, choose one person or one help service to turn to, understand the urge, build one boundary, add checks and friction, prepare support, rehearse the decision and put it all in a plan you review. It blocks no sites and it is not treatment.
- Do I have to stop gambling to use it?
- No. The Programme does not ask you to give play up; it helps you keep it inside limits you choose. Deciding to stop is a good result too.
- Is it treatment?
- No. B4GAMBLE does not diagnose or treat anyone. If you want treatment or someone to talk to, the National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133) is free and open 24 hours a day.
- Does it cost anything or need an account?
- It is free. You can begin without an account; you create one only to save your Starting Point and carry on.