Responsible Gaming

Our commitment: gambling is entertainment, not income

Gambling should sit alongside your other leisure activities and be paid for out of money you can comfortably afford to lose. It is not a way to earn, to cover a shortfall or to win back an earlier loss. Our games are built around chance, the odds favour the house over time, and no system, pattern or staking plan changes that.

An account with us is for adults only. You must be 18 or over to register, deposit or play. We hold a gaming licence that requires us to verify the age and identity of every customer, and we may ask for documents at any stage. If we find that a customer is under 18, we close the account, void any winnings and return the deposits.

Before you play, decide what a session is worth to you and treat that figure as the price of the entertainment rather than a stake you expect to get back.

• Set a budget before you deposit, not while you are playing.
• Use leisure money only, never money needed for rent, bills, food or credit repayments.
• Set a time limit as well as a money limit, and stop when you reach either one.
• Never raise your stakes to win back money you have lost.
• Avoid gambling when you are upset, bored, under pressure or drinking.
• Take regular breaks and keep gambling as one activity among several.

The tools in your account and how to switch them on

Every account includes controls you can use at any time, without explaining why. They sit together in the responsible gambling section of your account, and the amounts and periods shown there are the ones that apply to you.

Deposit limits

A deposit limit caps what you can pay in over a day, a week or a month. You can run more than one limit at the same time, and the tighter one applies. A lower limit takes effect immediately. A request to raise or remove a limit is held for a cooling-off period before it applies, and you can cancel that request at any point while it is pending.

Loss and session limits

A loss limit caps the net amount you can lose over a chosen period; once you reach it, play stops until the period ends. A session limit caps how long a single session can run, and we end the session when the time is up. Both are set in the same place as your deposit limits and follow the same rules on increases.

Reality checks

A reality check is an on-screen reminder that appears at an interval you choose. It shows how long you have been playing and what you have staked and won in the current session, then asks whether you want to carry on or stop. We suggest keeping reality checks switched on even if you usually play briefly.

Time-outs

A time-out closes your account to play for a short, fixed period chosen from the options in your account. While it runs you cannot deposit or stake, we stop sending you marketing, and any balance stays safely in your account. A time-out cannot be lifted early; the account reopens on its own once the period ends.

Self-exclusion

Self-exclusion is for a longer break. It closes your account for the period you select from the options shown in your account. We remove you from all marketing, refuse further deposits and stakes, and will not reopen the account while the exclusion runs. When the period ends, the account stays closed until you contact us and ask for it back, and a further waiting period applies before any reopening takes effect. Any withdrawable balance is returned to you using the methods set out in the cashier.

Switching a control on

1. Sign in and open the responsible gambling section of your account.
2. Choose the control you want: deposit limit, loss limit, session limit, reality check, time-out or self-exclusion.
3. Enter the amount, period or interval and confirm your choice.
4. Keep the confirmation we send to your registered e-mail address.
5. If a control is not working as you expected, use the live chat on the site or e-mail support@casinomegareel.co.uk and our team will set it for you.

Signs that gambling may be causing harm

Gambling problems usually build slowly, and the early signs are easy to explain away. Go through this checklist honestly and think about the past few months rather than today.

• You regularly play for longer or spend more than you intended.
• You chase losses, raising stakes to get back to where you started.
• You borrow money, sell belongings or use credit to fund gambling.
• You hide how much you gamble from family, friends or colleagues.
• You gamble to escape worry, low mood, loneliness or boredom.
• Work, study, sleep, relationships or household responsibilities are suffering.
• You feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down or stop.
• You have thought that only a large win will sort out your finances.

If more than one of these sounds familiar, treat it seriously. Set a limit or start a time-out today, and speak to one of the organisations below. Their support is free and confidential, whether or not you have decided to stop.

Where to get free, confidential help

The organisations below are not part of our business, and we receive no information about who contacts them. You can approach them directly at any time.

• GambleAware - a charity that funds treatment services and publishes plain, practical information on how gambling works, the risks involved and where to turn first.
• GamCare - offers free counselling and treatment by phone, online and face to face, both for people who gamble and for those affected by someone else's gambling.
• GamStop - a free self-exclusion scheme; once you register, it blocks you from the gambling sites covered by the scheme for the period you choose.
• The National Gambling Helpline - free, confidential and open around the clock, staffed by advisers who will talk through your situation and arrange support or treatment.

You can also speak to your GP, who can refer you to specialist NHS treatment, and to your bank, which may be able to block gambling payments from your card or account. If you are worried about a partner, relative or friend rather than yourself, these services support family members too.

Protecting children and young people

Underage gambling is against the law, and keeping under-18s off the site is part of how we run it. We verify the age and identity of every customer, we carry out checks when an account is opened and before certain payments, and we restrict accounts that have not completed verification.

• Never let anyone under 18 use your account, your card or a device while you are signed in.
• Keep your password private, and avoid saving log-in or card details in a browser on a shared computer.
• Sign out when you have finished playing, and lock devices that children also use.
• Consider filtering or parental control software, which can block gambling sites across the computers, tablets and phones in your home; many devices also include built-in content and screen-time controls.

If you believe a child has used your account, or you suspect that someone under 18 is gambling with us, contact the live chat on the site or e-mail support@casinomegareel.co.uk and we will look into it. Where we find that an account has been used by a person under 18, we close the account, void any winnings and return the deposits made.