Responsible Gaming at Hot Streak Casino

Our commitment: gambling is entertainment, and only for adults

Gambling with us is a form of entertainment. It is not a way to make money, and it is not a way to win back money you have already lost. Every game on the site is built so that, over time, it pays out less than is staked on it. The sensible approach is to treat whatever you spend as the price of the entertainment, in the same way you would treat the cost of a cinema ticket or an evening out.

We therefore ask every player to decide on a budget before they play, and to fix that budget using the limits in their account rather than relying on willpower in the moment. Money you need for rent or mortgage payments, bills, food, travel or repaying debt should never be used to gamble.

We hold a gaming licence and we verify the age, identity and payment details of every person who opens an account. Our games are for adults aged 18 or over only.

Habits that keep play under control

• Decide how much you can afford to lose before you open a game, and stop when you reach that figure.
• Set a time budget as well as a money budget, and use reality checks to keep track of it.
• Treat losses as the cost of playing. Never raise your stakes to win back money you have lost.
• Avoid playing when you are upset, stressed, bored or have been drinking.
• Take regular breaks, and keep your other interests and commitments in the week.
• Never borrow money, use credit or gamble with funds that belong to someone else.
• Look over your account history from time to time so you know what you have actually deposited and staked.

The controls in your account and how to switch them on

Every control described here is free, applies across your whole account and takes effect on all our games at once. You will find them together in the safer gambling area of your account, which you can open from the account menu once you have signed in.

Switching a control on

1. Sign in and open the account menu.
2. Choose the safer gambling section.
3. Select the control you want, then the amount or period from the options shown.
4. Confirm. The control applies to your account straight away.
5. Come back to the same screen at any time to see which controls are active and when each one can next be changed.

Lowering a limit, shortening a session or starting a time-out takes effect immediately. A request to raise or remove a limit is held for a cooling-off period and must then be confirmed by you before it applies, so a decision taken in the moment cannot be undone in the same moment. If you do nothing, the request lapses and your existing limit stays in place.

Self-exclusion is a firmer step. While it is running we close your account to all gambling, stop sending you marketing and return any remaining balance using the methods set out in the cashier. We cannot shorten or cancel it once it has started, and the account is not reopened automatically when the period ends. If you want to play again after that, you have to ask us, and a further cooling-off period applies.

Signs that gambling may be becoming a problem

Problem gambling usually builds slowly, and the person affected is often the last to notice. Go through this checklist honestly and think about the past few months rather than today alone.

• You play for longer, or with more money, than you planned to.
• You stake more after a loss in order to make it back.
• You gamble with money meant for bills, rent, food or repaying debt.
• You borrow money, sell belongings or hide spending so that you can keep playing.
• You are not honest with family, friends or colleagues about how much you gamble.
• Gambling is affecting your work, studies, sleep, mood or relationships.
• You feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down or stop.
• You gamble to escape stress, low mood, loneliness or boredom.
• You have tried to stop before and found that you could not.
• Someone close to you has said they are worried about your gambling.

If even one or two of these points sound familiar, it is worth acting early. Set a tighter limit or start a time-out today, and speak to one of the organisations below. They offer free self-assessment questionnaires and will talk to you in confidence, whether or not you decide to change anything straight away.

Where to get free, confidential help

The organisations below are independent of us. Their help is free, confidential and open to anyone affected by gambling, including family members and friends.

• GambleAware funds and promotes free information, advice and treatment for anyone worried about their own gambling or someone else's.
• GamCare provides free counselling, treatment and support groups across the UK, for players and for the people around them.
• GamStop runs the free national self-exclusion scheme: a single registration blocks you from the websites and apps of every operator covered by the scheme, for the period you choose.
• The National Gambling Helpline is free and confidential, answered at any hour of the day by trained advisers who can discuss your situation and refer you to treatment near you.

Your GP can also refer you to free treatment services, and most banks let you switch on a gambling block for your debit card. We are not able to offer counselling ourselves, but if you tell us you need help we will apply a time-out or self-exclusion to your account straight away and explain what happens to your balance.

Protecting children and others in your household

We check age and identity when you register, and we may ask for documents at any point afterwards, including before a withdrawal is paid. An account may only be used by the person named on it, and payment methods must be in that person's own name.

If you share a device or a home network with children or other adults, these steps matter as much as the checks we run:

• Keep your password to yourself and do not save it in a shared browser.
• Do not use any 'stay signed in' option on a device others can reach.
• Sign out fully when you finish playing, and lock the device.
• Do not let anyone under 18 watch you play or handle your account.

Filtering and parental control software can block gambling sites on a computer, phone, tablet or games console, and many home routers and mobile networks offer similar controls at network level. If you use them, check that they cover every device a child in your household can reach. If you believe someone under 18 has used your account, tell us at once on live chat or at support@casino-hotstreak.co.uk so that we can suspend it.