How to set deposit, loss and session limits

Every licensed casino is supposed to let you cap your own deposits. At offshore sites the tool exists at some and not at others, and even where it exists it is usually three menus deep. This guide is the short version: where to look, what to set, and what to do when the setting is not there.

1. Find the setting

Log in and open the account menu, the icon with your name or balance in the top corner. Look for Responsible Gambling, Limits, Player Protection or Safer Gambling. At some sites it is under Profile, then Settings, then a tab near the bottom. If you cannot find it in two minutes, ask live chat "where do I set a deposit limit" and screenshot the answer.

2. Set a deposit limit

A cap on how much you can deposit per day, week or month. Pick a number you would be fine losing, not a number you hope to win with. Set all three periods if the form allows it; a daily cap alone is easy to drift past over a month. The limit takes effect immediately.

3. Set a loss limit

Different from a deposit limit. A loss limit counts net losses, so a lucky run does not raise the amount you can lose later. Fewer sites have this one. Stake lists deposit, loss and wager limits in the account. Most of the others we checked list only a deposit limit, or nothing.

4. Set a session limit or reality check

A timer that either logs you out after a set number of minutes or pops a message showing time played and net result. Set it to 60 minutes. The message is annoying on purpose.

5. Lowering is instant, raising is not

This is the part people do not expect. Lower a limit and it applies now. Raise one, or remove it, and a cooling-off period applies before the new, higher limit kicks in, usually 24 hours and often 7 days. The delay is the point. It stops the 2 a.m. decision to double the cap. If a site raises a limit the moment you ask, that is a mark against the site, not a convenience.

Which of our casinos have these tools

Stake is the clearest on our list: deposit, loss and wager limits plus self-exclusion, all in the account. On the other side, published reviews flagged Need for Spin, SpinMills, Neon54 and Slots Empire for limited or missing tools. casino.guru notes SpinMills has no deposit limits or reality checks in the account, Neon54 has limited options, and Slots Empire has none. Red Dog and Whale.io were also noted for limited tools. If you need a hard cap, that list matters more than the bonus.

Self-exclusion by e-mail

Where there is no button, there is an e-mail. Write to the support address with the subject line "Self-exclusion request", your account e-mail and the period you want (six months, one year, permanent). Say you want the account closed and no promotional mail. Keep the sent message. Under the Curacao and Anjouan licence conditions the operator is supposed to act on it, and a written request is evidence if they do not. Published reviews of Wild Tokyo include reports of self-exclusion requests handled slowly, so send it, then do not log in while you wait.

What goes wrong

• The limit is per site. A C$200 weekly cap at one casino does nothing at the three others you have accounts with. Set it everywhere, or use a bank-level block on gambling merchants, which some Canadian banks offer in the app.
• A new account. Self-excluded players sometimes open a second account with a different e-mail. The terms treat this as fraud and void winnings. It also does not help.
• Bonuses after exclusion. Promotional e-mail that keeps coming after you asked for exclusion is a licence breach. Forward it to the licensing body named on the casino's footer.

If the reason you are reading this is that gambling has stopped being fun, the provincial helplines are free and confidential, and the number for every province is on our responsible gambling page. ConnexOntario is 1-866-531-2600. Our bonuses page and Interac page will still be here.