Why a free site bothers with this
Nobody can lose money here. Even so, these games share their shape with real gambling: a stake, a wait, a reveal. For most people that is harmless fun. For some, especially anyone who has had trouble with gambling before, the shape alone can stir things up. If that is you, it may be kinder to yourself to close the tab, and there is no shame at all in doing so.
Habits that keep it light
- Decide how long you will play before you start, and stop when the time is up, whatever the balance says.
- Treat the coins as a scoreboard, not as something you are owed. They will drift downwards, because every game returns a little less than it takes.
- Don’t play to cheer yourself up, calm yourself down or pass time you would rather spend asleep.
- Remember that a run of good or bad rounds tells you nothing about the next one.
- Never let a free game be the first step towards a paid one. We will never point you towards real-money gambling.
Taking a break here
Open your visiting card from the coin counter at the top of any page and choose Pause for 24 hours or Pause for 7 days. While the pause runs, all four games stay closed in that browser. You can also sign out, which wipes your nickname and coins, or simply clear this site’s data from your browser settings.
Signs worth noticing
With any kind of gambling, real or pretend, it may be time to talk to someone if you find that you:
- spend longer playing than you meant to, again and again;
- feel restless or irritable when you try to stop;
- chase losses, or play to win back what has gone;
- hide how much you play, or borrow and spend to keep going on real-money sites;
- notice it getting in the way of sleep, work, money or the people around you.
Free, confidential help in the UK
- National Gambling Helpline
- Call 0808 8020 133, free, 24 hours a day, every day. Run by GamCare, which also offers live chat and local support.
- BeGambleAware
- Advice, self-assessment tools and routes into free treatment at begambleaware.org.
- GAMSTOP
- Free self-exclusion from online gambling businesses licensed in Great Britain, for six months, a year or five years, at gamstop.co.uk.
- Gambling blocking tools
- Most UK banks let you block gambling payments from their app, and blocking software can keep gambling sites off your devices.
If you are worried about someone else, the helpline is there for families and friends too.