Responsible Gaming at Ivy Casino

Gambling is something you pay for, in the same way you pay for a cinema ticket or a meal out. It is not a way to earn money, settle a debt or win back an earlier loss. The outcome of every game we offer is determined by chance, and over time the odds favour the house.

We ask every player to decide on a budget before they start and to stop when that budget is spent. Deciding in advance how much money and how much time you are willing to use is the single most effective habit for keeping play under control.

• Set a budget from money you can afford to lose, and keep it separate from rent, bills and food.
• Treat the money you stake as the cost of the entertainment, not as an investment.
• Never gamble with borrowed money, credit from other people, or funds set aside for someone else.
• Accept losses as part of the game rather than trying to chase them with larger or faster stakes.
• Take regular breaks, and avoid playing when you are upset, stressed, bored or have been drinking.
• Keep gambling as one activity among several, rather than the main way you spend your free time.

Every account includes a set of free safer gambling controls. You choose the amounts and periods yourself, and they apply across your account as soon as they are active. Nothing in this section costs anything or affects the rest of your account.

Switching a tool on

1. Log in and open the account menu.
2. Open the safer gambling or limits section.
3. Choose the tool you want, then the amount or period from the options shown.
4. Confirm your choice. A lower limit, a time-out or a self-exclusion applies straight away.
5. If you ask to raise or remove a limit, the change only takes effect after the cooling-off period shown on screen, and you can cancel it at any point before then.

Deposit, loss and session limits

Limits are the most flexible of the tools, because you can keep playing within a ceiling you have chosen in a calmer moment. You can hold more than one limit at a time, for example a weekly deposit limit alongside a daily session limit. Once a limit is reached, the relevant action is blocked until the period resets.

Reality checks

A reality check interrupts play at the interval you choose and tells you how long you have been playing and what you have won or lost in that time. You then decide whether to carry on or close the game.

Time-outs and self-exclusion

A time-out is a short break. A self-exclusion is a longer, firmer commitment: your account is closed to gambling for the full period, you are removed from marketing, and you may not open another account with us during that time. Once either is in place we cannot lift it early, even if you ask us to, and at the end of a self-exclusion the account stays closed until you actively ask for it to be reopened. You can always withdraw a remaining balance, as set out in the cashier.

Problems rarely appear overnight. The checklist below covers the patterns most often described by people who later sought help. If several of these apply to you, it is worth setting a limit or taking a break now and talking to one of the organisations in the next section.

• You gamble for longer or with larger stakes than you planned.
• You increase your stakes to feel the same level of interest.
• You gamble to win back money you have lost.
• You use money meant for bills, rent, food or other people.
• You borrow money, sell belongings or hide spending to keep gambling.
• You lie to family, friends or colleagues about how much you gamble.
• You think about gambling at work, at night or during time with your family.
• You gamble to escape stress, loneliness, anxiety or low mood.
• You feel restless, irritable or guilty when you try to stop or cut back.
• Someone close to you has told you they are worried about your gambling.

Gambling can also affect the people around you. If you are worried about a partner, relative or friend, the services below support family members as well as players.

The organisations below are free to use and confidential. We cannot provide counselling or clinical advice ourselves, so we encourage you to contact them directly.

• GambleAware is a charity that provides free information and advice about gambling harm and helps people find treatment services across Great Britain, including a self-assessment you can complete on your own.
• GamCare offers free, confidential counselling, treatment and practical support for anyone affected by gambling, in person, by phone and online.
• The National Gambling Helpline, operated by GamCare, is open day and night to players and to family members who need advice or someone to talk to.
• GamStop is the free self-exclusion scheme for online gambling in Great Britain: one registration blocks you from gambling sites licensed here for the period you choose, and operators cannot override it.

Alongside these services, many banks let you switch on a gambling block on your card or account, and blocking software can be installed on a phone or computer to stop gambling sites from loading. Debt advice charities can help if gambling has caused money problems, and your GP can refer you to local treatment where it is available.

Gambling is for adults only. Before you can deposit or play, we carry out identity and age verification in line with our licence conditions, and we may ask for documents at any later point. Accounts that fail these checks are suspended.

Most cases of underage gambling involve a young person using an adult's account and payment details. The steps below reduce that risk at home.

• Keep your username, password and payment details to yourself, and do not let anyone else use your account.
• Turn off any setting that saves your password or card details on a shared device.
• Log out whenever you finish playing, especially on a phone or tablet that children use.
• Set up separate user profiles on shared computers and devices.
• Install parental control or content-filtering software, which can block gambling sites and apps and restrict purchases on a device.
• Store bank cards securely and check statements for payments you did not make.

If you believe someone under 18 has used your account, contact us immediately through the live chat on the site, by e-mail to support@casino-ivy.co.uk, or at responsiblegambling@casino-ivy.co.uk. We will look into it, suspend the account while we do so, and apply the outcome set out in our terms.