Play safely: budget, limits and where to get help in Denmark
Play with care
A casino that pays gives you what you win. It does not stop you losing more than you meant to. That depends on a handful of habits, which are easiest to keep from day one, and on knowing where to get help if playing stops being entertainment.
The board of foreign casinos measures whether a casino writes its money rules down. None of those rules changes the mathematics: the house wins over time, at a casino with five green lamps as much as at one with two. What is left in your hands is how much you play, and for how long.
Before you deposit
- A monthly budget. Decide how much you will spend in a month, as you would with nights out or subscriptions. Money you do not need for bills, rent or savings.
- A separate wallet for gambling only. If you play with crypto, use a wallet, or an amount on the exchange, that is only for gambling. The savings sit somewhere else.
- No credit. Do not buy crypto with a credit card in order to play, and do not borrow money to play.
- Limits on the account. Many foreign casinos carry deposit limits and breaks in the account settings. Set them on day one. Raising a limit often takes time; lowering one does not.
While you play
- A time limit. Set an alarm on your phone. There are no clocks on a casino screen.
- No topping up. What you brought to the session is what you play with. Once it is gone, the session is over.
- Do not chase the loss. A bad session does not get better by becoming a bigger one. That thought costs more money than any other.
- Withdraw winnings. What you win, you move to your wallet. A balance at a casino is not savings.
Signs that playing is no longer entertainment
- You play to win back what you lost.
- You raise the budget «just this once», again and again.
- You hide how much you play from family or friends.
- You use money meant for bills, rent or savings.
- You play at night when you should be sleeping, or at work.
- It irritates you when you cannot play.
One of these is reason for a break. Several are reason to talk to somebody.
VIP programmes and bonuses scaled to how much you have staked are built so that you play more. If you notice yourself playing to reach the next tier, that is one of the signs.
Help in Denmark
- StopSpillet: 70 22 28 25. Anonymous counselling about gambling. The phone line is open Monday to Thursday 9–21 and Friday 9–17; the chat Monday to Thursday 17–21 and Friday 14–17. The conversation is confidential. stopspillet.dk.
- Center for Ludomani. Free treatment without a referral from a doctor: up to 12 sessions, in person or online, with follow-ups after 2 and 5 months. For relatives too. Branches in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and Esbjerg. Phone 70 11 18 10. ludomani.dk.
- ROFUS. The Danish register of voluntary exclusion from gambling. You can enter it for 24 hours, 1, 3 or 6 months, or permanently, at rofus.nu.
ROFUS covers gambling on a Danish licence. If you have entered ROFUS, that is a clear signal to hold the break all the way, at foreign casinos too. Close the account at the casino or ask customer support to exclude you, and delete the app or the bookmark.
If you are playing at a casino that does not pay
The stress of a withheld withdrawal leads to bad decisions: depositing more to «release» it, playing to win back what was lost. Before you do anything, read the warning signs and gather documentation. And to avoid getting there at all: always make a small trial withdrawal before you deposit larger sums, as described in withdrawals and the trial withdrawal. Keep the gambling money apart from the rest, as shown in from kroner to crypto.
Strictly 18+.