Closed petition Require a cooling off period and mental health adverts on gambling platforms

Closed on 30 May 2024

We would like the Government to legislate for a cooling off period, prior to every bet being confirmed, on all gambling platforms, to help protect people from gambling harms. This should be combined with mandatory mental health adverts across all gambling platforms.

In 2023, it is estimated that there were up to 496 deaths by suicide relating to gambling in England, and that tens of thousands of children have a problem with gambling. We think the most effective way to protect people from gambling harms would be a cooling off period, whereby, before a bet is deemed to have been placed, and the customer's money taken from their bank accounts, there is a 'cooling off' time period. This might help reduce problem gambling by reducing the anticipation of 'winning bigger' or 'chasing the win'.