Responsible Gambling

Gambling is entertainment that costs money. For most people that is all it is. For some it stops being that, and the change is gradual enough to miss.

Get help in New York — the New York Council on Problem Gambling runs a free, confidential HOPEline on 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369), or text HOPENY to 467369. The National Council on Problem Gambling helpline is 1-800-522-4700 and operates 24 hours a day. Gamblers Anonymous holds meetings across the five boroughs and upstate.

Signs worth taking seriously — chasing a loss with a bigger stake; gambling with money set aside for something else; borrowing to gamble; hiding how much you have staked; feeling you need to gamble to feel normal; gambling longer than you meant to, repeatedly. Any one of those is a reason to stop and talk to someone.

Tools at these sites — deposit limits, loss limits, session reminders, cooling-off periods and self-exclusion exist at most of the operators listed here, usually under account settings or responsible gaming. One thing to understand clearly: because these operators are licensed offshore, there is no single New York self-exclusion list that covers them. If you self-exclude you have to do it at each operator separately, and it is worth also using a blocking tool such as Gamban or BetBlocker at the device level.

Supporting someone else — the HOPEline takes calls from family members, not just from gamblers, and Gam-Anon runs meetings for partners and relatives. You do not need the person's permission to ask for advice.

Our position — we would rather lose the commission than have a reader hurt by a site we recommended. If you are not sure whether your gambling is a problem, treat that uncertainty as the answer and call the number above.