How to Set a Gambling Budget and Time Limit

A gambling budget is a fixed amount of money you decide on before you play, and a time limit is a fixed length of time. Setting both in advance, on a calm day, is one of the clearest ways to stay in control. This guide gives you the method, the sums and the research behind it.

It is part of our Responsible gambling and psychology section. Nothing here says gambling is safe at any level.

What are a gambling budget and a time limit?

A gambling budget is the most money you allow yourself to spend on gambling in a set period, such as a month. A time limit is the most time you allow for one session or one month. Both are decided before you start, written down, and treated as a ceiling, not a target.

Read more: Warning Signs of Problem Gambling

GambleAware (Great Britain) puts it simply: decide a spending limit for the day, week or month before you gamble, set a time limit before you start, and when the time is up, stop and do something else. Gambling Help Online (Australia) says the first step is to decide in advance how much you will spend, how often you will gamble and how many ways you gamble.

How much should your gambling budget be?

A research-based answer is no more than 1% of your household income before tax per month. That comes from Canada’s Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines, which also say to gamble no more than 4 days a month and to avoid regularly gambling at more than 2 types of games. Lower risk does not mean safe.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released the guidelines on 15 September 2021, after more than five years of research. The work drew on data from over 60,000 people who gamble in eight countries and feedback from over 10,000 people in Canada. The CCSA says people must follow all three guidelines for them to be effective. See the CCSA announcement.

1. Gamble no more than 1% of household income before tax per month.
2. Gamble no more than 4 days per month.
3. Avoid regularly gambling at more than 2 types of games.

In a webinar transcript, the presenters said the analysis pointed to a range of about 1% to 3% of income, and that 1% was chosen as the lower, more comfortable end because people in focus groups found it more acceptable than 1.5%.

The same transcript carries a clear caution. The poster says these limits may not be suitable for you, and that you should consider gambling less, or not at all, if you have problems with alcohol, cannabis or other drug use, problems with anxiety or depression, or a family history of gambling problems.

The presenters said Asian countries were underrepresented in the data and that applicability to other countries and cultures has not been established, so local adjustment may be needed. A later study in the Journal of Gambling Studies found the limits consistent with earlier research, while noting that people tend to underestimate their own spending.

How do you work out your monthly cap step by step?

Take your household income before tax for one month and divide it by 100. The answer is your cap, the most you would spend on gambling in that month, and it should come only from spare money. If your income varies, use a low month.

1. Find your monthly household income before tax. If you only know the yearly figure, divide it by 12. The ratio is the same either way: Gambling Help Online expresses the limit as 1% of yearly pre-tax household income.
2. Divide by 100. A household that earns 3,000 a month has a cap of 30. A household that earns 70,000 a year earns about 5,833 a month, so the cap is about 58, which matches the example in the guidelines webinar.
3. Remove essentials first. Gambling Help Online says to use only spare money, never money needed for rent, bills or other essentials. If the cap would eat into those, lower it or set it to zero.
4. Write the number down. Put it in your phone, a notebook or a separate account, and treat it as final for the month.

Monthly household income before tax	1% monthly cap	Per play day (4 days)	About per week
1,500	15.00	3.75	3.46
2,500	25.00	6.25	5.77
4,000	40.00	10.00	9.23
6,000	60.00	15.00	13.85

How do you turn the cap into a budget per day?

Divide your monthly cap by the number of days you plan to play. With the CCSA limit of 4 days, a cap of 25 becomes 6.25 per day. That is the figure to carry with you, because a monthly number is easy to ignore on any single night.

How long should a gambling session last?

There is no research-backed number of minutes, so pick a time limit you can keep and set it before you start. Gambling Help Online suggests checking the time regularly and taking breaks to get fresh air or have a snack, so you can think clearly about whether to carry on.

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services says research shows longer sessions tend to mean greater losses, though it does not name the study, so treat that as general guidance. What we can show exactly is how time turns into cost. The table uses single-zero (European) roulette, with a house edge of 2.70%, and double-zero (American) roulette, with 5.26%, both from the Wikipedia roulette article. The pace of 40 spins an hour is our assumption.

The sum is: bet size x 40 spins = amount wagered per hour, then x house edge = average loss per hour.

Bet per spin	Wagered per hour (40 spins)	Average loss per hour, single zero (2.70%)	Average loss per hour, double zero (5.26%)
1	40	1.08	2.10
5	200	5.40	10.52
10	400	10.80	21.04

Read more: Roulette Odds and Payouts for Every Bet

Now set that against the budget. In the 2,500 household example, a play day is 6.25. At 5 per spin on a single-zero wheel, the average cost is 5.40 an hour, so one hour is already close to the whole day. A two-hour limit would average 10.80 on that wheel, which is more than the daily budget.

This is the key point for anyone setting both limits. When the time limit and the money limit disagree, the money limit wins. Stop when the budget is gone, even if the clock says you have time left.

How many types of games should you keep?

The third guideline is to avoid regularly gambling at more than two types of games. Choose one or two and leave the rest alone. Every extra type adds more chances to spend, and it makes the monthly total harder to see.

The presenters said fast-paced games with quick, repeated betting may make the guidelines harder to follow, while slower games such as lottery tickets may make them easier.

Which habits help you stay inside your limits?

The most useful habits make the limit physical or automatic, so you are not relying on willpower in the moment. Leave cards at home, bring a fixed amount, use the limit tools your account offers, and gamble when you are calm. Several health bodies list the same few steps.

• Bring only the budget. Gambling Help Online and the North Dakota tips both say to leave cards at home, so it is harder to overspend.
• Pay bills first. The NHS suggests direct debits or standing orders so bills such as a mortgage are paid on payday, before you gamble.
• Keep the money separate. GambleAware suggests writing the limit down, moving gambling funds into a separate account, or asking a trusted person to remind you of it.
• Use account tools if you play online. GambleAware says to set a limit on your account. GamCare describes spending limits, reality check alerts that help you monitor time, and timeouts of up to six weeks.
• Do not chase. Gambling Help Online says trying to win back lost money usually ends in even more losses. When the limit is reached, stop.

If you want a longer break, GamCare says self-exclusion with a company lasts a minimum of six months. The NHS also lists GamStop, which blocks gambling sites and apps in Great Britain for 6 months, 1 year or 5 years, and says you can ask your bank to block payments to gambling sites.

How do you review your budget each month?

At the end of each month, add up what you spent, the days you played and the games you used, then compare all three with your plan. Treat a small overshoot as a reason to adjust the plan, not to give up on it.

1. Total the money. Include every site and venue. If you keep no records, GambleAware has a free spend calculator that works out what you are spending.
2. Count the days and game types. Compare them with your limit of 4 days and 2 types.
3. Note what pushed you over. Gambling Help Online says slips can reveal triggers you can manage better next time, such as stress, alcohol or boredom.
4. Reset the cap. If your income changed, recalculate. If you went over, lower the next cap or the number of play days rather than raising them.

When are limits not enough?

Limits are not enough when you regularly break them, hide the spending, or borrow to gamble. At that point a plan is not the right tool, and talking to someone is. Help is free and confidential, and asking early is common.

The NHS lists self-check questions, such as whether you bet more than you can afford to lose or have tried to win back money you lost. Score each from 0 (never) to 3 (almost always). A total of 8 or higher suggests you, or those close to you, are likely experiencing gambling-related harms, and a total of 1 to 7 means gambling may still be affecting your life.

Where	Service	How to reach it
Great Britain	National Gambling Helpline (GamCare)	0808 8020 133, free, 24 hours a day, every day
Australia	Gambling Help Online	1800 858 858, free, confidential, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
United States	National Problem Gambling Helpline (NCPG)	1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), or text and online chat via the NCPG site

What should you do next?

Do three things today: work out your cap, divide it by your play days, and write both down with a time limit. Review them once a month. Then share the numbers with someone you trust.

1. Divide last month’s household income before tax by 100. That is your cap.
2. Divide the cap by the days you plan to play, no more than 4.
3. Pick a session time limit, and remember that the money limit wins if they clash.
4. Choose one or two game types and drop the rest.
5. Put a date in your calendar for the monthly review.

If the number feels too small to bother with, or too hard to keep, read our guide to the warning signs, which has a private self-check, and our guide to self-exclusion and blocking tools. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.