jessesiebenberg.com 18+ only

Responsible Gambling

Gambling is entertainment, not income. If it has stopped feeling that way, help in South Africa is free, confidential and available now.

Get help now

You do not need to have decided anything before you call. Talking it through is the whole point.

Read this before using any site listed here

Seven of the eight casinos on this site are licensed offshore. They are not regulated by the National Gambling Board or any provincial gambling board. That matters in three ways:

  • South African dispute routes do not apply. If a withdrawal is withheld, you rely on the operator’s complaints process and its offshore regulator.
  • Self-exclusion is per site. Excluding yourself at one casino does not exclude you at another. If you have excluded yourself anywhere, please do not use this page.
  • Limit tools vary from site to site and are set by each operator.

Hollywood Bets is licensed in South Africa as a betting operator, so its customers do have a local regulator.

Limits that work

  • Set a deposit limit before your first deposit, not after a loss. Lowering a limit is usually immediate; raising it is slow on purpose.
  • Decide what you are willing to lose and treat it as the price of the evening. If losing it would change your month, it is too much.
  • Never chase losses. Raising stakes to win money back is the most reliable route to losing more.
  • Do not gamble with money you need for rent, food or debt, and never borrow to play.
  • Use time-outs. Most cashiers let you lock your account for a day, a week or longer.

Signs it has stopped being entertainment

Playing for longer or with more money than you meant to. Hiding it from people close to you. Borrowing to play, or playing to win back losses. Feeling anxious or irritable when you cannot play. Losing interest in things you used to enjoy.

All of these are common, and none of them means something is wrong with you. The helpline above is the right first step.

Under 18

Gambling by anyone under 18 is illegal in South Africa. Every operator listed verifies identity before paying out, and accounts opened with false details are closed. If you share a device with children, use your phone or browser’s parental controls to block gambling sites.