How do I stop playing slots?

How do I stop playing slots today? Five first steps

If you’ve decided you want to stop, the most useful thing is to act while that decision feels clear. These five steps take less than an hour between them.

1. Call or message someone: the National Gambling Helpline run by GamCare (opens in a new tab) on 0808 8020 133, by live chat or WhatsApp. It’s free, confidential and open 24 hours a day.
2. Register with GAMSTOP (opens in a new tab) to block yourself from every gambling site and app licensed in Great Britain, for a period you choose between 6 months and 5 years.
3. Turn on your bank’s gambling block in your banking app, so card payments to gambling businesses are declined.
4. Withdraw any balance left in casino accounts, then close or exclude those accounts and delete the apps.
5. Tell one person you trust, and agree what they’ll do if you ask them for money or say you want to play.

For a fuller plan of the support available, see help for slot players and our responsible gambling page.

Why stopping playing slots can feel so hard

Slots are built around quick, repeated play with unpredictable rewards. A spin takes seconds, wins arrive at random intervals, and features such as near misses and bonus anticipation keep attention high. None of that means anything is wrong with you; it means the product is designed to be absorbing. Our explainer on why slot machines are absorbing looks at the design side, and near misses explains why “almost” wins feel so strong.

Some UK rules now slow online play down: since 31 October 2021 online slots have had no autoplay, a minimum of 2.5 seconds per spin and no turbo, and since 2025 stakes are capped at £5 per spin (£2 for 18 to 24-year-olds). These help, but they don’t stop play. Barriers you choose for yourself do more.

Signs it’s time to stop playing slots

• Spending more than you planned, or more than you can afford to lose.
• Playing to win back losses (chasing).
• Hiding play or spending from family or friends.
• Borrowing, using bill money or selling things to keep playing.
• Feeling anxious, low or irritable when you try to cut down.
• Thinking about slots when you’re doing other things.

If any of these sound familiar, you don’t need to wait until things are worse. Our guide to signs slot play is a problem goes through them in more detail.

Blocking online slots: the tools compared

Online slots are available on your phone at any time, so blocking them is usually the most important step. Each tool covers a different gap, so most people use more than one.

GAMSTOP can’t be cancelled during the period you choose, and when the period ends it stays in place until you ask GAMSTOP to remove it. All online operators licensed in Great Britain have had to take part since 31 March 2020. Our step-by-step guide on how to block slot sites covers each tool, including the banks the Gambling Commission lists as offering blocks.

Stopping fruit machines and venue slots

GAMSTOP doesn’t cover pubs, arcades, bookmakers, bingo halls or casinos. For those you need land-based self-exclusion, usually done in person with a photo. The Gambling Commission lists separate schemes for each sector:

Pubs don’t have a national scheme. If your pub machine play is a problem, speak to the licensee or manager, and consider avoiding pubs with machines for a while. Our page on self-exclusion from arcades and the arcade self-exclusion guide explain the in-person process.

Putting barriers around your money

Slot play needs money in an accessible form, so reducing that access is a strong safeguard.

• Turn on your bank’s gambling block; the Gambling Commission’s guide to blocking gambling payments (opens in a new tab) lists banks offering it, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander and Starling.
• Ask someone you trust to help manage bills or savings for a while.
• Carry less cash if pub or arcade machines are your trigger, since many machines still take coins and notes.
• If debts have built up, get free advice from StepChange (opens in a new tab) rather than gambling to fix them.

Gambling can’t solve money problems. Over time, losses are likely on every slot because of the house edge. Chasing losses usually makes debts bigger.

Handling urges to play slots

Urges tend to rise, peak and pass, often within minutes. Having a plan ready makes them easier to ride out.

1. Notice the urge and name it: “this is an urge, it will pass.”
2. Delay: tell yourself you’ll wait 30 minutes before doing anything.
3. Change place or activity: go for a walk, call someone, make food.
4. Remind yourself of the real cost, for example what you lost last month.
5. Contact the helpline by chat or WhatsApp if the urge stays strong.

Common triggers include payday, boredom, stress, alcohol and adverts. Opt out of gambling marketing by text and email, and under rules in force since 1 May 2025 online operators must ask before sending you direct marketing. Our slot machine safety tools guide lists the settings to change.

Free treatment and support in the UK

• National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133, run by GamCare, free and 24/7, with live chat and WhatsApp.
• NHS gambling clinics: in England you can refer yourself; see the NHS help for problems with gambling (opens in a new tab) page.
• Wales: NHS Wales Helpline 0808 2819 265.
• Gamblers Anonymous: free peer-support meetings across England, Wales and Ulster.
• Family and friends can call the helpline too.

Talking therapies help many people understand what drives their play. Our page on help for slot machine addiction explains what treatment involves.

Myths that keep people playing

Our guides to the gambler’s fallacy and slot machine myths explain why these beliefs feel convincing.

If you play slots again after stopping

A slip doesn’t cancel your progress. Treat it as information: what triggered it, and which barrier had a gap? If you played at a venue, add the right self-exclusion scheme. If you played online, check whether a site wasn’t covered by GAMSTOP, which usually means an unlicensed site, and add blocking software. Then contact the helpline or your support group. If cutting down rather than stopping is your aim, our page on setting a limit on slots explains deposit limits and reality checks, but if limits haven’t worked before, full exclusion is usually the safer choice.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.