Play safely
Good habits by the fire, a short self-check, and the Irish services that will listen if you need them.
Free games on fictional credits are built to be harmless, yet they still borrow the lights, sounds and rhythm of gambling machines. For most people that is simply fun. For some it can stir up habits they would rather not feed. This page is written for both.
Adults only
Dunmorrow must not be used by anyone under 18. If you share a phone, tablet or computer with children, the parental controls built into your device or browser can block sites like this one, and it is worth closing the tab when you step away.
Good habits by the fire
- Name the hour you will stop before you begin, and hold to it no matter what the screen is doing.
- Get up often. Stretch, make a cup of tea, look out at the weather; a tale left mid-chapter will keep.
- Leave the hall shut on bad nights. Anxious, down, worn out or a few drinks in: those are exactly the times a game stops being a pastime.
- Keep it one small interest among many, behind friends, family, the match, music, books and a good night’s sleep.
- Say it out loud to someone you trust if games begin to crowd your thoughts.
- Never treat free play as training. What happens on pretend credits tells you nothing about real-money gambling, and nothing in this hall is meant to nudge you towards it.
Questions the seanchaí would ask
- Does an evening’s tale often stretch well past the hour you promised yourself?
- Are you short-tempered or unsettled on days you cannot get to a game?
- Do you reach for a game mainly to quieten worry, grief or loneliness?
- Would you rather the people at home did not know how long you spend at it?
- Has a free game ever tempted you towards a real-money site?
- Has someone who cares about you remarked on your playing?
A single yes is reason enough to talk things through with one of the services below. They cost nothing, they keep what you say private, and nobody needs to be at breaking point to ring or write.
Who will listen
- Gambling Care
A free and confidential Irish service for anyone affected by gambling, including family and friends of someone who gambles. Freephone 1800 936 725.
gamblingcare.ie - Extern Problem Gambling
Counselling and practical support for people harmed by gambling and for the families around them.
problemgambling.ie - Gamblers Anonymous Ireland
Group meetings where people who want to quit gambling support one another.
gamblersanonymous.ie - Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland
Ireland’s statutory regulator for gambling, whose website explains how gambling is overseen in the State.
grai.ie - Gambling Therapy
A worldwide online service offering free support, handy if you would sooner type than talk.
gamblingtherapy.org
Stepping away from Dunmorrow
There is no account here to freeze or close; a break begins the moment you shut the tab. For a sturdier barrier, most phones, computers and browsers can block chosen websites, and a friend or relative can help you switch that on. And if anything in the hall has made it harder to walk away, please tell us.