Responsible Gambling
Free, confidential support services in the United States and Canada, the warning signs worth knowing, and how to set limits or self-exclude.
Last updated .
BestSlip is a tool for understanding prices and measuring results. It is not a sportsbook, and the people most likely to be helped by an honest accounting of their betting record are also the people most likely to find that record unwelcome reading. If that is where you are, the services below are free, confidential and available now.
Get help now
United States
- 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) — the National Problem Gambling Helpline, run by the National Council on Problem Gambling. Call or text, 24 hours a day, in every state.
- Chat and text are available through ncpgambling.org, which also lists treatment providers by state.
- Gamblers Anonymous — gamblersanonymous.org for meeting schedules, in person and online.
Canada
- ConnexOntario — 1-866-531-2600, free and confidential, 24 hours a day for anyone in Ontario.
- Provincial helplines exist across Canada and are listed by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Services, age limits and self-exclusion schemes are set provincially.
Signs worth taking seriously
None of these on its own proves anything. Several of them together is worth acting on.
- Betting more than you intended, or more often than you intended.
- Chasing losses — increasing stakes to recover money already lost.
- Betting with money set aside for something else.
- Hiding how much you bet, or lying about it.
- Feeling anxious, irritable or low when you are not betting, or needing to bet to feel normal.
- Betting interfering with work, study, sleep or relationships.
Practical limits
- Set a budget before you start, in money you can lose without consequence, and treat it as the cost of entertainment rather than an investment.
- Use the deposit and time limits every licensed sportsbook is required to offer. They are in the account settings, and setting one when things are calm is far easier than setting one when they are not.
- Self-exclusion is available through most sportsbooks and through state and provincial programmes. It is a formal, enforceable block rather than a promise to yourself.
- Keep an honest record. Most people remember their wins more clearly than their losses. A complete record is the only thing that corrects for that.
What the maths says
Worth stating plainly, because our own articles and calculators are about exactly this: sportsbook prices include a margin on every side of every market. A standard two-way market is priced at about 104.8%, which means the average bettor loses money over time by construction, not by bad luck. Understanding the arithmetic makes you a better-informed bettor. It does not make betting profitable.
Sports betting eligibility, legal age and available support resources vary by state and province. Check the rules where you live.
BestSlip does not accept bets or deposits. We cannot close a sportsbook account, block a deposit or reverse a bet — only the sportsbook you used can do that.