Self-exclusion at an Online Casino: The Illustrated Guide

in the section that often called “Responsible Gaming”. Here you will find answers on 2 main groups of questions:

• What terms and conditions (are declared) by online casino responsible gambling policy

• How exactly you can exclude yourself from gambling on the casino website (step-by-step description you must follow)

There are 3 possible ways how to exclude yourself from gambling on real money:

Self-blocking through your online casino account

Unfortunately, it is not a common practice among gambling operators. Though, some of them make your life easier and allow you to exclude yourself in two clicks:

• Open your online casino account.

• Find the section (into your personal account settings tab) that is called somehow as following examples: “Limits”, “Responsible gaming”, “Self-exclusion” etc.

• Into this section, you are supposed to determine a period of time you will not be able to play for the real money in this casino.

Self-blocking in online casino via live chat

It is a very straightforward path, but only available in online casinos with a live chat option.

You simply should connect to the chat, wait for a while (it usually takes from few seconds to few minutes) and tell a support worker about your wish to be excluded. It is not as easy as self-exclusion through your account settings, but here you can communicate with a human being, so it may be more helpful, in terms of more flexible parameters setting (for instance, an excluded period of time).

Self-blocking in online casino via support email

If none of the above-mentioned methods is available, then you have to request to block yourself via email.

Firstly, find out an email address (often at the bottom of the main page on the website) and make a request (in free form) to be excluded from gambling in the casino.

It is necessary to provide an online casino with your email address (used for registration on this casino website) and your username (if the online casino offers such an option).

For what period of time I can exclude myself in an online casino?

There are 2 options:

• Permanently. You can neither play in this online casino anymore (under any circumstances) nor open a new account.

• For a certain period of time. Usually, you will be provided with a few choices (for example 1 day, 1 week, 1 month etc.), which depends on certain online casino policy. Some online casinos make it possible to set your own period of time, which is quite a handful option.

How soon after the request of self-exclusion, it will be activated?

It depends on a particular online casino policy and the method which you used to exclude yourself from gambling.

If you implemented this procedure through your account settings, probably, the blocking is going to be applied immediately.

In the case of self-blocking via an email or live chat, it will take some time since changes should be applied manually. Better ask the casino representative how long it takes on this particular website.

After the exclusion period is set successfully you are going to receive a confirmation email with the information that your account is now closed/self-excluded.

What happens with money on my balance when I use self-exclusion?

Since there are basically 2 options for which period of time you can exclude yourself from gambling, it is going to be 2 ways what happens with your balance:

• If you exclude yourself from playing in online casino for an indefinite period of time, your balance will be withdrawn according to online casino withdrawal policy, which you can usually find in a “Terms and Conditions” section.

• In case you exclude yourself for a specific period of time than your balance can be withdrawn only when a period of self-blocking expires or some casinos don't apply any restrictions and you can withdraw right away.

What happens with active bonuses when I exclude myself?

All bonuses are going to be terminated, and all winnings derived from those bonuses will be cancelled as well.

Can I cancel permanent self-exclusion or temporarily self-exclusion ahead of time?

The answer is no (in legit casinos at least).

The whole point of this procedure is to prevent you from making impulsive decisions. If you requested self-exclusion for a certain period of time you had to have strong reasons to do so.

Respectively, the permanent self-exclusion can not be repealed under any circumstances.