• Free postal entry on every paid competition
  • Instant wins — you know the moment you buy
  • Drawn 8pm Saturday, on camera
  • Winnings paid the same night
  • Every prize funded before it opens
  • New competitions every week
The pools Prizes

Responsible play

Entering competitions should be entertainment you can afford. If it has stopped being that, everything on this page is free, confidential and independent of us.

If you need to talk to someone now

0808 8020 133

The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare. Free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It is not connected to us and nothing you say reaches us.

Where to get help

  • National Gambling Helpline

    Operated by GamCare

    Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

    0808 8020 133

    gamcare.org.uk

  • GamCare

    Treatment, advice and support

    One-to-one and group treatment, a live chat service, and a forum for people affected by someone else's gambling.

    gamcare.org.uk

  • GAMSTOP

    Free self-exclusion

    Registering blocks you from gambling websites licensed in Great Britain for six months, one year or five years. It cannot be undone before the period ends.

    gamstop.co.uk

  • BeGambleAware

    Information and treatment referral

    Advice on recognising a problem, tools for cutting down, and a route into free treatment.

    0808 8020 133

    begambleaware.org

  • Gordon Moody

    Residential and intensive treatment

    For severe gambling addiction, including residential courses and online therapy.

    gordonmoody.org.uk

  • Gamblers Anonymous

    Peer support meetings

    Free meetings across the UK, in person and online. Gam-Anon runs alongside it for family and friends.

    gamblersanonymous.org.uk

  • Gambling Therapy

    Support in multiple languages

    Online support groups and one-to-one help, available outside the UK and in a range of languages.

    gamblingtherapy.org

  • Citizens Advice

    Debt and money advice

    Free, independent help with debt, which is often the more urgent problem.

    citizensadvice.org.uk

Signs worth taking seriously

  • Spending more than you meant to, or more than you can afford.
  • Entering to win back what you have already spent.
  • Hiding how much you enter, or lying about it.
  • Borrowing money, or selling things, to keep entering.
  • Feeling anxious, low or irritable when you are not entering.
  • It getting in the way of work, sleep, or the people around you.

Any one of these is worth a conversation with someone on the list above. You do not have to be in crisis to call.

Practical things that help

  • Decide the amount first. Set what you are willing to spend before you open the site, not while you are on it.
  • Remember it is entertainment. It is not income, and it is not a way out of a money problem.
  • Never chase. Entering again to recover what you spent is the point at which it stops being a hobby.
  • Use a blocker. GAMSTOP is free, and bank card gambling blocks are available from most UK banks.
  • Enter free instead. Every competition here has a free postal route with exactly the same chance of winning.

Closing your account

You can ask us to close your account at any time, and we will not ask you to justify it. Write to support@thepools.com and we will close it and stop all marketing. If you have registered with GAMSTOP, that applies across every site licensed in Great Britain and does not rely on us acting.

18+ only. It is an offence for anyone under 18 to enter, and we will cancel any entry and refuse any prize where we find the entrant was under age.