A gambling spend log is a printable sheet where you write down your monthly limit and every session you play. It shows planned spend against actual spend, so you can see the real cost month by month. Use it with our online tracker, or on its own with a pen.
This printable is a two-page companion to the gambling spend tracker. Page 1 sets your limit and logs each session. Page 2 has a weekly check-in, a month-end review and an honest self-check.
What is a gambling spend log and who is it for?
A gambling spend log is a written record of how much money and time you spend on gambling. It is for anyone who gambles and wants to stay in control, and especially for people who gamble regularly. Writing it down makes the cost visible, which is hard to judge from memory.
The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba suggests recording what you spend if you gamble regularly, and comparing your planned amount with what you actually spent at the end of each day.
How do you set a monthly gambling limit?
Pick an amount you could lose completely without it affecting your bills, food, rent, debts or savings, and write it down before you play. Treat it as a ceiling, not a target. If nothing is left after your essential costs, the right limit is 0.
- Start with spare money. Use only money you can afford to lose, never money for essentials or borrowed money.
- Set a monthly limit and divide it into weekly shares so you do not spend it all early.
- Add a per-session limit and a time limit, and decide what you will do if you reach the limit sooner than planned.
- Do not raise the limit while you play. If you want to change it, wait until the month ends and write down why.
For a guide to the size of a limit, the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services suggests spending no more than 1% of household monthly income on gambling and gambling no more than four days a month. It advises stricter limits for people with a personal or family history of gambling problems.
How do you fill in the spend log?
Write the session on the log straight after you finish, while you remember it clearly. Each row has a date, the activity, minutes played, planned spend, actual spend, money won back, the net result and whether you stuck to your plan. The running total shows how much of your limit is used.
- Planned spend: the amount you decided before you started.
- Actual spend: the total money you put in, including top-ups.
- Won back: the money you took out at the end.
- Net: won back minus actual spend. A negative number is a loss.
- Running total spent: add each row of actual spend. Stop for the month when it reaches your limit.
Should you use the printable log or the online tracker?
Either works, and some people use both. The online gambling spend tracker adds totals for you and shows how much of your limit your losses have used. The printable log is on paper, so it stays in your own hands and is easy to show someone you trust. Both only record what you enter.
What does the honest check on page 2 look for?
The honest check lists six signs that gambling is costing more than planned: spending more than planned, chasing losses, playing to escape stress, hiding spending, using money meant for bills, and gambling getting in the way of work, family or sleep. One tick is a reason to lower your limit or take a break. Several ticks is a reason to talk to someone.
Where can you get help today?
If you went over your limit again and again, or you find it hard to stop, talk to someone you trust and contact a support service in your country. Our Get help page lists support by country, and the safer play toolkit covers limits and self-exclusion tools.
Need help?
Free, confidential help is available. Choose your country to see helplines.
Find a helpline
How to read the result
Page 1 holds your limit and a session log: net is money won back minus actual spend, and the running total shows how much of your limit is used. Page 2 has a weekly check-in, a month-end review and a self-check. A negative net is a loss. Stop for the month when the running total reaches your limit.
How it is calculated
Net = won back - actual spend. Running total spent = sum of actual spend so far. Left of limit = monthly limit - running total spent. Weekly share = monthly limit / number of weeks you plan to play. Under or over limit = monthly limit - total spent. All figures are written by you, so nothing is calculated for you.
Worked example
Worked example
Monthly limit 40 units, with a weekly share of 10. Week 1: planned 10, actual spend 10, won back 4, net -6. Running total spent 10, left of limit 30. Week 2: planned 10, actual 15, won back 0, net -15, over plan. Running total 25, left of limit 15. The over-plan row is the warning to stop or lower the next limit.
Limits
The log records what you write and nothing else. It does not block play, send alerts or check that entries are true, and it does not replace self-exclusion or bank gambling blocks. The self-check is not a diagnosis. Limit suggestions come from health bodies and are general guidance, not advice for you.