Understanding gambling and knowing when to walk away

Gambling is a popular pastime in the UK, and with the rise of online and mobile casinos, it's also become easier to access in recent years. Sadly, ease of access can also lead many to gamble to excess. A fondness for gambling can quickly spiral into an addiction, so it's important to recognise problem behaviours if they do emerge.

The link between gambling and debt is clear. It's often these debts that cause people who gamble to first realise that they don't have full control of their habits. The sooner someone recognises they have an unhealthy relationship with gambling, the sooner they can take action to change their habits and get their finances back on track.

Some signs to recognise

There are many signs that someone might have a difficult relationship with gambling, here's a few to look out for:

• Spending more money on gambling than they can afford to lose
• Accumulating debt through gambling
• Having arguments about gambling with family and friends
• Losing interest in regular activities outside of gambling
• Continuously chasing losses
• Concealing their gambling habits from others

How we can help

We want to help customers who might be concerned about their gambling to get back on the right track and protect their financial wellbeing.

If you recognise any of these symptoms in your own behaviour, or have any other reason to believe you might have a difficult relationship with gambling, you may want to turn on a gambling block using the Chase app. Gambling blocks are applied instantly and will prevent any attempted payments being made from your Chase card to recognised gambling services. You can add a gambling block to your card from the Chase app:

1. Tap ‘See card’ on Home
2. Tap 'Manage card'
3. Tap 'Card controls'
4. Tap 'Gambling' and then 'Switch off gambling'

Whenever we identify a gambling transaction, we'll automatically block it. This should work for things like betting shops, casinos and online gambling. It won't work for things like lottery tickets bought at a supermarket, or cash withdrawals from a casino ATM.

We understand that the decision to gamble can often be an impulsive one. So if you want to remove an active gambling block, we'll ask you to contact our support team first. Once you've spoken to one of our agents, there will be a 48-hour delay before you can use your card for gambling again.

Help and advice

If you need additional help managing your gambling, there are lots of resources available to you.

Gamcare (Opens in new window) operates the National Gambling Helpline and can offer free, confidential advice to anyone affected by gambling in England, Scotland and Wales.

MIND (Opens in new window) the mental health charity can offer support to anyone who has had their mental health affected by gambling.

Gamblers Anonymous UK (Opens in new window) runs local support groups using the same 12 step recovery programme pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous.

The National Problem Gambling Clinic (Opens in new window) is run by the NHS and offers support to anyone over the age of 13 afflicted by serious gambling problems.