GamCare Casinos: Guide & Favourite Picks

Gambling can be fun, but for some, it turns into a harmful addiction that affects not just the individual, but also those around them. In the UK, over 400,000 people are estimated to struggle with problem gambling.

Since 1997, GamCare has been a leading support organisation, offering free, 24/7 advice, tools, and treatment for anyone affected. It runs the National Gambling Helpline and provides support via live chat, WhatsApp, and social media. GamCare also trains industry staff to spot and respond to problem gambling. Read on to learn more about its role and affiliated casinos.

Top 4 GamCare casino sites

Are you looking for the most trusted GamCare casinos on the net? You're in the right place! It's our job to scour through the thousands of online casinos currently operating and rank them on various factors, including licence status, reputation, player feedback, responsible gaming, security and a host of other indicators.

Only those online casinos which have passed our meticulous review process and ranked highly on multiple levels are worthy enough to make this list, so you can rest assured they are safe, secure and fun. Here is the quick list of the sites and its welcome bonus:

GamCare Casino	Welcome Bonus	Terms & Conditions
William Hill Casino	100% Buy in Bonus + 50 Free Spins	Full T&Cs apply
Bet365 Casino	Up to 200 Free Spins	Full T&Cs apply
Betfair Casino	50 Free Spins with promo code CASAFS	Full T&Cs apply
Duelz Casino	£100 bonus + 100 fress spins	Full T&Cs apply

William Hill Casino

Although better known for its competitive sports betting markets as both an online and offline bookmaker, William Hill is a major player in the gambling industry and one of the best GamCare casinos on the net, offering a wide range of games, including slots, poker, RNG and live table games as well as the option to take part in online bingo gambling.

Launched in 1998, William Hill Casino holds a solid reputation with players even to this day, perhaps in part because they are the proud licensees of multiple regulatory authorities, including the Gibraltar Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and, of course, the UK Gambling Commission. As a result, the brand is subject to a lot of oversight, which many players find comforting.

Like most online casinos, William Hill Casino features its supported and affiliated companies and organisations in the footer, where you'll find links to Gamble Aware, Gambling Therapy, Gamblers Anonymous, GamStop, the TalkBanStop campaign (a joint effort by GamCare, GamStop and GamBan) and GamCare, which links directly to the live support page.

William Hill Casino is also required to provide its range of protective measures, and the brand does very well. Within the site's help pages, you'll find various safer gambling tools, including session time reminders, timeouts, product blocking, deposit limits, self-exclusion from 6 months and account closure.

Additional support is available for UK players, including guides for using the various tools and tips on maintaining control of your gambling activity. The William Hill website also features an anonymous self-assessment tool, which many find helpful for determining if they might have or be at risk of developing a gambling problem.

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Bet365 Casino

Bet365 Casino is another well-established brand, operating in the industry since 2000. However, you may be more familiar with Bet365 as a sports betting site, which is how the company started. At this popular GamCare, casinos are many games and betting opportunities, including slots, live dealer games, bingo, poker, sports betting and fantasy sports.

Under the watchful eye of both the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, Bet365 Casino features GamCare's National Gambling Helpline at the bottom of the page, linking directly to the site's support page. Also on display are Gamble Aware, GamStop, Gambling Therapy and TalkBanStop, all of which are linked.

Bet365 Casino's player protection resources aren't limited to paying lip service to industry organisations. The site's Safer Gambling link grants players access to various tools and resources via a separate website. On offer are a budget calculator, reality checks, timeouts, deposit limits and self-exclusion.

The site is also filled with useful information, such as a detailed look at how gambling works, tips for identifying potential problematic behaviour and discussing common myths. Understanding the nature of gambling addiction is key to overcoming it, and Bet365 Casino does a good job of covering this avenue. 

Protecting under-18s from gambling is also on Bet365's agenda, with a page dedicated to the subject within their safer gambling site. Support is also available for those affected by the gambling behaviour of others.

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Betfair Casino

The Betfair brand is perhaps best known for being one of the first online sportsbooks to introduce the more attractive and competitive markets derived from a peer-to-peer exchange setup, but Betfair Casino has garnered its solid following too. Coming online in 2000, Betfair Casino is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, so the brand's commitment to player protection is high expectations.

The Betfair brand certainly lives up to its name in that respect, starting with a variety of links to supportive industry organisations such as Gambling Therapy, Gamble Aware, GamStop and GamCare, with a link to the Take Time To Think campaign also featured. Like most of the best GamCare casinos, Betfair Casino displays a link to GamCare's National Gambling Helpline and links directly to its support page.

Betfair Casino has also been branded an Advanced Level 2 (2nd highest level) assured business by Safer Gambling Standard, an independent organisation that assesses player protection levels of industry operators. Betfair Casino's own safer gambling resources can be found on their respective website, which features deposit and loss limits, timeouts, reality checks, session timers, a budget calculator, a self-assessment and self-exclusion.

Betfair's focus stems back to one of its earliest taglines, "smart betting", which was originally a reference to their exchange betting mechanism but has since been repurposed to highlight the importance of maintaining control of gambling activity.

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Duelz Casino 

Duelz Casino presents players with a very different setup from what you might expect from an online casino. While they still offer a wide range of slots, table games, jackpots and live dealer games like other sites, Duelz adds extra spice by creating player competitions.

Members compete with each other by playing their favourite slots, using spells to give them an edge, for the chance to scoop chests filled with stars and trophies and move up into more advanced and rewarding leagues. It's a setup that has proved very popular with players, making the site one of the best GamCare casinos.

Launched in 2018 and licensed by several authorities, including the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, Duelz Casino is under intense scrutiny, contrary to what the brand's social gaming vibe may suggest, which should put players at ease.

Regarding responsible gaming and player protection, Duelz Casino does its due diligence by featuring links to GamStop, Gamble Aware, Gamblers Anonymous, Gambling Therapy and GamCare in the footer. Still, there is, of course, more than that available for vulnerable players.

On the site's Responsible Gaming page, you'll find information about the brand's various tools, including loss, deposit, wagering and session limits, reality checks, timers, timeouts, self-assessment, self-exclusion and account closure. Also featured are sections on underage gambling and parental controls, with the bottom of the page listing the top gambling support organisations and an overview of each.

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How does GamCare works

GamCare is a UK-facing independent charity that provides useful information and resources to anyone experiencing gambling problems, whether through their gambling activities or those of someone else.

The organisation runs the National Gambling Helpline and provides support via the website's live chat service, WhatsApp Chat and Facebook Messenger, all on a 24/7 basis. Also available on the site in terms of support is the GamCare Forum, which allows users to browse through posts to learn from the experiences of others and share their own experiences, and the live chat text room called Group Chat, where people can chat with others about their experiences and provide mutual support in real-time.

Also featured on the GamCare website is their Recovery Toolkit, which offers a range of resources, many of which users can implement on their own to regain control of problematic gambling behaviour. These resources include a self-assessment, a self-guided workbook, information about blocking software, details about self-exclusion, advice on money and debt management and a cognitive behavioural therapy informed online course called GameChange.

In addition to the web-based and phone support offered, GamCare also enables free face-to-face treatment across the UK.

Registering at GamCare

While many of the resources available on the GamCare website, and the support services, such as the National Gambling Helpline and the live chat options, can be accessed freely by anyone, there are some additional services you need to register a free account to access.

Registering at GamCare means you'll have your own My GamCare account that you can log into to access the full suite of tools and resources on offer by the organisation, specifically including the GamCare Forum and Group Chat features, which have proven to be extremely helpful for recovering gambling addicts as well as family and friends that have been affected by problematic gambling behaviour.

Many people are understandably reluctant when it comes to revealing personal details online, especially when it comes to the sensitive subject of problem gambling. Gamcare understands that, so they allow you to sign up at the site quickly and easily using your email address and first name, which will only be visible to the staff.

Registering at GamCare involves choosing a username and password, entering your email address and first name, and ticking the box to confirm that you agree to the forum rules. You'll also receive GamCare's newsletter, which contains updates about their work.

What happens once you've registered

Once you've created your own My GamCare account, you'll be able to log in and take advantage of two of the most useful tools that GamCare has to offer, the GamCare Forum and Group Chat.

Your username will act as your screen name when accessing and using the GamCare Forum and the organisation's Group Chat, so choosing something appropriate and unoffensive is wise.

The GamCare Forum is where you'll find a range of posts on gambling recovery, from personal accounts and stories to calls for support, questions about the journey and pointers from those in recovery. Once registered at GamCare, you can comment on other people's posts and publish posts yourself, with the forum serving as the perfect opportunity to give and receive support.

The Group Chat service at GamCare takes this idea of mutual support even further, offering a real-time online space where members can chat about their own experiences, reach out for moral support and provide helpful tips and advice.

Registering at GamCare also means that the results of your self-assessment and progress through resources like the self-guided workbook and cognitive behavioural therapy informed online course would be saved.

Organisation management

GamCare is a registered charity founded in 1997 by Paul Bellringer to provide information, advice and support to anyone experiencing harm from gambling, whether directly or indirectly. The organisation also provides training to operators within the gambling industry to help them identify their customers' problematic behaviours and offer good support.

After consultation with both staff and users, GamCare identified four ambitions that form its mission:

• Gambling harms are widely recognised and prevented.

• Universal access to effective tools and support.

• Universal access to caring, evidence-led and integrated treatment.

• GamCare's work is trusted, valued and effective.

GamCare is headed up by a board of trustees who agree on the organisation's strategy. Details of this strategy are fed down to GamCare's CEO, who is responsible for its execution, which is then carried out by the senior management team.

Holding the board and the organisation to the account are two sub-committees. The Audit and Risk sub-committee oversees the organisation's corporate governance systems. In contrast, the Clinical and Governance Quality sub-committee is chaired by a senior clinician and is in place to ensure GamCare's clinical work is effective and efficient.

GamCare is funded by grant agreements and donations, with the organisation's main funder being Gamble Aware for the operation of the National Gambling Helpline. Part of the UK Gambling Commission's regulations stipulates that licensees must contribute a proportion of their revenue towards research, education and treatment to minimise gambling harms. GamCare is one recipient of those contributions.

Pros and cons of GamCare

There are pros and cons to everything, and GamCare is no different. Here to help you decide if the organisation will be useful to you, is our handy list of the pros and cons of GamCare and its services:

Reasons to avoid non-GamCare casinos?

While on the one hand, simply displaying the GamCare logo isn't necessarily an indication of a good online casino, on the other hand, NOT demonstrating your support for GamCare can often be a warning of a less than trustworthy site.

Except for many sites that operate outside of the UK for which advertising GamCare would be irrelevant to their members, UK-licensed non-GamCare casinos, that is, sites that don't show their support for GamCare, might be best avoided for the following reasons:

• Player protection, not a priority: Choosing not to support GamCare could indicate that the online casino doesn't take player protection very seriously.

• Could indicate other failings: Non-GamCare casinos may also fail to protect players in other ways, e.g. through vague T&Cs and bonus terms.

• No promises: While casinos that don't support GamCare may have their resources and tools to protect players, they are not subject to the same level of accountability.

Player protection is a crucial aspect of the gambling industry that UK-licensed online casinos are strongly encouraged to support by their issuing authority. Though UK Gambling Commission-regulated online casinos don't need to display the GamCare logo and link to the organisation's website, the best ones do, so it's wise to stick with them if you can.

Final thoughts on GamCare

Numerous organisations serving the UK offer helpful information and resources for coping with gambling problems, but none have the reputation, longevity and far-reaching scope of GamCare.

Although the organisation is funded partly by the gambling industry, GamCare's structure is transparent, with a board of trustees overseeing operations and an experienced senior management team in charge of strategy execution. GamCare also works with other organisations on national campaigns to reduce gambling harm and provide support.

GamCare's website is chock full of useful information, not just for those struggling with a gambling addiction but everyone affected by it. Visitors can talk to someone at any time of the day or night via the 24/7 support service, which includes the freephone National Gambling Helpline, and access the website's many resources such as self-assessments, workbooks and CBT courses.

Opening an account at GamCare also grants members access to the organisation's forum and group chat services for peer support, which is crucial on the road to recovery.

There's a reason GamCare has been running for so long, and that is because it works, with 94% of callers saying they would recommend the service to others. Many recovering addicts choose to support others on their journey via the site.

FAQs on GamCare casinos

Want to know more about GamCare casinos? Check our FAQs below.