Responsible Gambling

Find out how to play responsibly, and how we are committed to providing an enjoyable, responsible and positive experience for our players.

1. Mission statement

We are committed to responsible gaming, and are dedicated to an enjoyable and positive gaming experience for all of our players. Most players play for fun and entertainment, but we recognize that a small percentage of players will:

1. Attempt to play when they’re underage, or
2. Allow playing games to control them and affect their lives.

We are committed to assisting and protecting those who should not be playing at all, or who wish to limit the amount that they play.

2. Age verification

Any underage player who has provided dishonest or inaccurate information regarding their true age may have all winnings forfeited and could face criminal prosecution.

What we do:

• Every person signing up for a new account must check a box that indicates that they are at least 18 years of age. This notifies everybody that we don’t accept players under 18.
• When a player creates an account with us, we collect their name, address, and birth date to confirm that the player is at least 18 years old.
• We do not target underage players with our marketing and advertising. It is neither good business nor consistent with our personal and corporate values to attract underage players.

What you can do:

• Be sure to protect your computer. All Windows computers can be set up to have password control so that you must enter a password to get to the desktop. In general, this is a good practice, but it’s even more important when there are children or teenagers in your household. Also, keep your HighStakes ID and password private. You can elect to have the software not remember your password each time you log-in. If you have any concern that somebody else might attempt to access your Highstakes Account, you should not allow the software to remember your password.
• If you have children or teenagers in your household, use protection software that allows you to limit the websites to which they have access, prevent file sharing, and generally give you detailed control over how your children use the Internet. Here is a list of some of those programs:
○ SafeKids
○ NetNanny
• If you are aware of an underage person using our platform, let us know. Simply send an email to Support and we will get right on it. Our first step is to investigate, and if warranted, freeze the player’s account and request identification from that player. We take these reports seriously.
• Be a responsible parent. In many ways, this is nothing more than keeping your eyes and ears open. If you hear your children talking about online game accounts, deposits, and withdrawals, start asking questions. If you see the the software on your child's computer, uninstall it and ask more questions. A responsible parent is the best start to preventing underage gaming.

3. Taking a break and self-exclusion

If you believe that playing games might be a hindrance to your life rather than a form of entertainment, we want to help you. First, please review the following questions:

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to playing?
2. Has playing caused you to neglect your own welfare or that of your family?
3. Have you ever sold anything or borrowed money to finance your playing?
4. Have you often played until your last dollar was gone?
5. Have you ever played longer than you had planned?
6. Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your playing?

If you answered “Yes” to several of these questions, we encourage you to visit Gamblers Anonymous.

You can take the test in its entirety at one of the following websites:
http://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-advice/self-assessment-tool/
www.ncpgambling.org/i4a/survey/survey.cfm?id=6

Also, we provide you with the ability to stop yourself from playing for various periods of time.

To do this, go to the main lobby of the HighStakes desktop software, select ‘Tools’ > ‘Responsible Gaming’ > ‘Take a break from playing’. On mobile, go to ‘More’ > ‘Settings & Tools’ > ‘Responsible Gaming’.

Please note that all cooling off periods and self-exclusions are irreversible for the duration of the specified time. In addition, all periods are inclusive of all games. Your break will apply to your HighStakes Account, and to any product in the 180Group that requires your HighStakes ID to play. If you want to block yourself from a particular game, you can go to the table-limits and set your limit to ‘Don’t play’.

• We offer 12-hour and 24-hour cooling off periods as well as 7 day and 30 day time out periods. You will not be able to play cash games, Sit & Go's or multi-table tournaments on our software. Once you click the button that requests a cooling off or time out period, you will be asked to close all tables at which you're playing. Once you've done that, the cooling off or time out period will begin. You will be automatically unregistered from any tournament that begins during the break period. You will not be able to deposit or make inter-account transfers with your HighStakes Account. Furthermore, you will not receive any marketing emails or newsletters from us.
• 180 day, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 year self-exclusion. This is identical to the other time out periods, except that we will ask you to withdraw any real money funds from your HighStakes Account. In addition, you will not be automatically reinstated. If you want to return to playing with us, you can email Support any time after your self-exclusion period has passed, or your self-exclusion will remain on your account indefinitely. We will not contact you, and you will not receive any marketing emails from us.
• Permanent self-exclusions. If you wish to self-exclude yourself for a duration that is not listed above, or permanently self-exclude yourself, please contact Support.
• Players who take a break or self-exclude during a tournament will nevertheless still be able to complete any tournament already in progress in which they are playing. This also means that players who request to take a time out period or self-exclude from playing after qualifying for Day 2 of a Multi-Day Tournament will still be able to play in that tournament on any subsequent day of that tournament, even after their break period begins. Players who choose not to play on subsequent days will receive no compensation. This does not apply to phased tournaments, so make sure you can play the tournament in its entirety before entering the first phase.

If you use a Windows or Mac computer and wish to self-exclude from all online gambling activity, consider downloading gamban®, software that helps you by blocking access to all online gambling

You may also wish to investigate GamBlock, a software application that limits a computer’s access to online gaming sites.

You may also wish to investigate requesting a self-exclusion from any other remote operator who you currently have an account with.

Reality Checks & Loss Limits

To help you manage the amount of time you spend playing at HighStakes, you can set up a Reality Check alert on your account. Once set, a pop-up alert will be displayed as a reminder that you have been logged into your account for the specified period of time (excludes Poker gameplay).

If you wish to receive the alerts more often any changes will be applied straight away, but if you wish to receive the alerts less often you will need to wait 24 hours before this is applied.
Loss limits for betting start from the moment they are first set. They run for the time you choose (day, week, month or year) and then they are automatically re-set and begin again.

For example, if you set a loss limit of $100 per week around Monday mid-day, your losses will be tracked from that point and you will be prevented from losing more than $100 on the markets covered by you until the following Monday. Then the loss limits will be re-set for the following week.

If you increase your existing limit, it will come into force 7 days later. Decreases are immediate.

You can set or amend your Reality Check and loss limits in the Responsible Gambling Controls section in your HighStakes account.

4. How to play online responsibly

If you choose to play online, there are some general guidelines that can help make your playing experience safer, and reduce the risk that problems can occur:

1. Play for entertainment, and not as a way of making money.
2. Play with money that you can afford to lose. Never use money that you need for important things such as food, rent, bills, or tuition.
3. Set deposit limits and ensure you never deposit more than you can afford to lose.
4. Never chase losses. If you lose money, don't play higher stakes to try and recoup your losses.
5. Don't play when you are upset, tired, or depressed. It is difficult to make good decisions when you are feeling down.
6. Balance your playing with other activities. Find other forms of entertainment so playing does not become too big a part of your life.

If you feel you might have a gambling problem, and seek further advice or counselling, you can visit these web sites:
• GamCare (UK)
• GamblingTherapy (World Wide)

5. Setting limits on your real money deposits

We believe that you should be allowed to manage your own budget for playing online. We allow you to restrict your own weekly real money deposit limits. Of course, those limits may be no higher than the ones we already have for your account.

6. Restricting cash game table limits, tournament limits, casino games and sports betting:

Setting table limits and tournament limits provide individual players with an opportunity to control their spending by limiting themselves from playing certain table limit stakes, as well as tournament buy in limits.

Set game limits.

You can also block yourself from individual casino games using the same menu located in ‘Tools’. There is also the option to block yourself from sports betting within this menu.

And you can also login to your account through our website. From the ‘Account’ menu, you can access our responsible gaming tools.

If you want any restriction in place permanently or for a designated time, please email Support with your request.