💡 What is Responsible Gambling?

Responsible Gambling means betting while following a number of guidelines to reduce your risk of developing a gambling problem, such as only betting for fun and with money you can comfortably afford to lose, setting spending limits and never chasing losses.

💡 How do I know if I have a problem with gambling?

There are a few signs that you may have a gambling problem, these include spending more than you can afford on gambling, chasing losses, feeling anxious, guilty or irritable. You may find yourself thinking and talking about gambling. If you experience any of these things, stop and seek advice.

💡 Can you be a responsible gambler?

Yes, the key to responsible gambling is to only bet for fun, set your own personal spending limit, and stick to it. Activate all responsible gambling tools that the site you gamble with has to offer.

💡 What does Self-exclusion mean in regard to Responsible Gambling?

Self-exclusion is a tool which can be used for someone who believes they have or may have a gambling problem. It works by blocking you from logging into a gambling account for a set period of time, allowing you to take an extended break from gambling.

Responsible Gambling in the Philippines

Last update at 27 November, 2025⏲️ Reading time: 7 minutes

What does Responsible Gambling mean?

Responsible Gambling means minimising the potential negative effects that gambling could have on a person. This basically means recognising and managing the potential risks of gambling by educating people about the key principles of Responsible Gambling. These include only gambling in a safe legal environment, whether it be at a casino or online. Making it clear that gambling should only be considered a form of entertainment and a leisure activity, and therefore should only ever be done with spare funds a person can afford to lose and not be considered a way to generate income.

Responsible Gambling Tools

As well as educating people on how they should approach gambling, there are also a number of tools that gambling sites can provide to help people stay in control when gambling. The options will vary from site to site, and some will offer software that lets you activate the tools on your account. On other sites, you will need to contact customer support to activate the tools.

⛔ Deposit Limits

Deposit Limits is a fairly simple tool. You can set these on your account to limit the amount you can deposit over a period of time, usually daily, weekly or monthly. Some sites let you set multiple limits rather than just picking one option. Once you reach the deposit limit, you won't be able to deposit again until the selected time period has elapsed.

⏱️ Reality Check

A reality check is a very simple tool which alerts you to the amount of time you have spent gambling. The site will automatically start a timer when you log in. After a set period of time, you will receive an alert showing how long you have been playing. You will then need to confirm if you wish to continue playing. There is often a feature on the website that lets you change how often you receive these alerts. Again, this will vary site to site, but the timing options can range from 15-30 minutes to a couple of hours.

📉 Loss Limits

A very helpful feature is the ability to set Loss Limits. This ensures you can’t lose more than you can afford if you activate this feature. You can set a maximum amount that you are willing to lose over a set time period. This will vary from site to site, but there are usually options ranging from 1 day to 1 month. When you reach this limit, you will no longer be able to place any bets until the end of the time period.

💵 Wager Limits

Like loss limits, some sites allow you to set wager limits. These work the same way: you can set them for various periods of time. The difference is that with wager limits, you can only bet a certain amount before you can’t bet anymore. It doesn't take into account how much you have won or lost. So if you set a wager limit of 500. After wagering 500, you can’t bet anymore until the time period has lapsed, whether you have lost 250 or turned 500 into 1000.

📝 Self Assessment

One step you can take to help evaluate your gambling behaviour is to take a self-assessment test. The aim is to assess whether you are at risk of becoming addicted to gambling. This is done by asking a series of questions about your gambling habits and judging based on your answers. These can be found on sites like Gamblingaware, and most gambling sites will have links to self-assessment tests in their responsible gambling section.

⏳ Time Out

A Time Out is a tool which allows you to take a short-term break from gambling. The time frames range from a day to 6-8 weeks. During this time, you typically won't be able to access your account, and it will be automatically reactivated at the end of the break.

🔒 Self-Exclusion

Self-Exclusion is a long-term version of the Time Out tool. You can decide for yourself to ban yourself from gambling. The time period is much longer, usually starting around six months and can be as long as five years. During this time, you will have no access to your gambling account, and you will likely need to contact customer services to have the account activated at the end of the period.

📊 Account and Bet History

Within the account section, you will be able to find some sort of record of your betting history. This is the best way to keep track of how much you have been spending. This isn’t a tool you can activate, but it's important to keep track and ideally keep a record yourself of what you have been spending.

FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions

💡 What is Responsible Gambling?
Responsible Gambling means betting while following a number of guidelines to reduce your risk of developing a gambling problem, such as only betting for fun and with money you can comfortably afford to lose, setting spending limits and never chasing losses.
💡 How do I know if I have a problem with gambling?
There are a few signs that you may have a gambling problem, these include spending more than you can afford on gambling, chasing losses, feeling anxious, guilty or irritable. You may find yourself thinking and talking about gambling. If you experience any of these things, stop and seek advice.
💡 Can you be a responsible gambler?
Yes, the key to responsible gambling is to only bet for fun, set your own personal spending limit, and stick to it. Activate all responsible gambling tools that the site you gamble with has to offer.
💡 What does Self-exclusion mean in regard to Responsible Gambling?
Self-exclusion is a tool which can be used for someone who believes they have or may have a gambling problem. It works by blocking you from logging into a gambling account for a set period of time, allowing you to take an extended break from gambling.