Responsible Gaming

Our Commitment

Here at The Pools we believe that everyone should get enjoyment and excitement from playing our games. However, we appreciate that gambling may go beyond enjoyment for a small amount of people and become a habit that could cause problems for the individual and those around them. As such, we recognise it is our responsibility to ensure that a responsible attitude towards gambling is taken and we have a number of systems and processes in place to best avoid problems occurring.

Our highly trained and dedicated Customer Service Team receive awareness training on problem gambling issues. They are available to assist you with any queries you may have regarding your gambling behaviours, as well as supporting you to keep in control. If you would like to talk to someone at The Pools about problem gambling please ’Contact Us’.

Please read the information within our ‘Safer Gambling’ section to understand how The Pools are committed to assisting and protecting those who should not be gambling or who wish to limit the amount that they wager.

Underage Gambling

To play on The Pools you must be over 18 years of age. We use a variety of tools to verify the age of our players. Any player who provides dishonest information regarding their age automatically forfeits their right to any prize. If you are found to have been underage all monies staked will be returned and the appropriate authorities informed. Civil proceedings or criminal prosecution may follow.

We recommend that parents and guardians who use a family shared computer install filtering software in order to restrict internet access to children and minors. There are a number of other third party applications that parents or guardians can use to monitor or restrict their computer’s access to the Internet, for example:

Net Nanny filtering software protects children from inappropriate web content: www.netnanny.com CYBERsitter filtering software allows parents to add their own sites to block: www.cybersitter.com Please Note: The Pools provide these links for information only and do not control, endorse, or guarantee content or products found on these sites.

Limit Your Account

Deposit Limits & Spend Limits

We offer the ability for our customers to limit the amount of money that they are able to deposit online into their account on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. These amounts may be revised downwards at any time but any increase will only be implemented 24 hours after your request. This will ensure you will always have 24 hours in order to re-consider your decision to increase your limit should you wish. This facility is available within your ‘Account’ once you have logged in.

Reality Check

Our ‘Reality Check’ tool allows you to keep a track of the time you spend gambling. Ideal for our Instant Win Game players. The session timer will begin when you log in and will prompt you with a pop-up-message when you have been logged in for the period of time chosen by you. This facility is available within your ‘Account’ once you have logged in.

Account History and Balance

Customers can easily access a full history of their transactions, withdrawals and deposits within their ‘Account’ once they have logged in. A customer’s balance is always available when they are logged in.

Take a Break

Time Out

Customers who may want to take a short break from gambling can do so by taking a Time Out for a specified period of 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 6 weeks. If you would like longer than this please let us know.

Once a Time Out has been requested you will not be able to access your account for betting and gaming, although any unsettled bets you may have will be unaffected.

For more information on taking a Time Out please contact us on 0800 500 000 or email us with your account details and the period of the Time Out you would like applied to your account.

Note that once the Time Out period has ended your account will automatically re-open. If you want to prevent yourself from gambling for a longer period of time and you want this decision to be irreversible you should consider using our Self-Exclusion option.

Self-Exclusion

The Pools provides a Self-Exclusion facility, which enables customers to close their account for a minimum period of six months. Unless you request self-exclusion any account that is simply ‘closed’ can be re-opened by the customer at any time.

During the period of Self-Exclusion The Pools will do all it can to prevent a new account being opened. You will not receive any promotional materials from us and suggest that if using social media channels you take steps to ensure you don’t receive our news or updates.

To use our Self-Exclusion option please log in to The Pools and go to your ‘Account’. You will be asked to choose the period of time you wish to be excluded for.

A customer who has decided to enter a self-exclusion agreement will do so immediately without any cooling off period. Please note that Self-Exclusions are irreversible for the duration of the specified time, will also apply to any other sites operated by The Football Pools and will result in cancellation of any direct debit in place at the time the self-exclusion agreement is made. An account closed under a Self-Exclusion agreement will remain closed for the agreed period and will not be reopened after the agreed period until the person takes a positive action in order to re-open that account by speaking to one of our Customer Support team.

Customers wishing to self-exclude may also email us at support@thepools.com confirming the full name and address for the account registered with us.

Please withdraw any unused funds if choosing Self-Exclusion.

It is recommended that customers using this option should consider extending their self-exclusion to other remote gambling operators they use. We also suggest customers consider visiting one of several websites that promote responsible gambling educational services, a selection of which you can find here. If you require more information relating to Self-Exclusion please let us know.

Recognising Problem Gambling

Whilst the majority of people do gamble responsibly, for some, gambling can become a problem. It may help you to keep control by remembering the following:

Please try to establish limits for purchasing, wagering and losses before you commence gambling You should not gamble if it interferes with your daily responsibilities You should not gamble if you are in recovery for any dependency or are under the influence of alcohol or any other substance You should not gamble if your primary aim is to recoup losses If you are concerned that gambling may have taken over your life (or someone else’s) then the following questions may give you some guidance:

Have others ever criticised your gambling? Have you ever lied to cover up the amount you have gambled or time you have spent doing it? Do arguments, frustrations or disappointments make you want to gamble? Do you gamble alone for long periods? Do you stay away from work or University to gamble? Do you gamble to escape from a boring or unhappy life? Are you reluctant to spend ‘gambling money’ on anything else? Have you lost interest in your family, friends or pastimes due to gambling? After losing, do you feel you must try to win back your losses as soon as possible? When gambling and you run out of money, do you feel lost and in despair, and need to gamble again as soon as possible? Do you gamble until your last penny is gone? Have you lied, stolen or borrowed just to get money to gamble or to pay gambling debts? Do you feel depressed or even suicidal because of your gambling? The more ‘yes’ answers, the more likely a gambling problem exists. For friendly and helpful advice from trained counsellors call the GamCare helpline on 0808 8020 133. The counsellor will listen to you carefully and encourage you to talk about your concerns. Sometimes just telling someone can be a relief, and is an important first step towards dealing with the problem.

You can also visit the GamCare website.

Support & Advice

More information and help with responsible gaming can be found at:

BeGambleAware: www.begambleaware.org GamCare: www.gamcare.org.uk Gambling Therapy: www.gamblingtherapy.org If you are considering self-exclusion you may wish to register with GAMSTOP.

GAMSTOP is a free service that enables you to self-exclude from all online gambling companies licensed in Great Britain. To find out more and to sign up with GAMSTOP please visit www.gamstop.co.uk.