JLJL77 Time Out: Set a Cooling-Off Break, Step by Step

A time out, or cooling off, is a break from gambling that you set up on a calm day so it still stands on a bad one. Take it after a heavy losing run, a night of chasing, or any moment you feel your play is running ahead of you. It sits inside your wider plan to stop online gambling, and it takes about twenty minutes to put in place.

Cooling off at a glance

Before you start

Tick these off first, in order. A break with gaps in it is usually broken by the first gap.

1. You know the end date and have written it down.
2. You have the number of one person you can message at any hour.
3. You have saved the NCMH line 1553 and the National Problem Gambling Helpline number (02) 8248-9568 in your phone.
4. You have cleared any pending deposits or open bets, so nothing is waiting on you.
5. You are 21 or over and you are doing this for yourself.

Step by step

1. Choose the length and write it down. Pick an exact end date, put it in your phone calendar, and send it to one person.
2. Log out and remove the shortcuts. Sign out of every gambling account, delete saved passwords and move shortcuts off your home screen.
3. Set your phone to help you. On Android, open Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing, tap App timers and set a timer next to the app. On an iPhone, open Settings, tap Screen Time and then Time Allowances, as Apple’s guide describes.
4. Tell your person. Give one trusted person the end date and ask them to check in with you once during the break.
5. Plan the day the break ends. Decide before it ends what you will do that day, and whether you extend the break or make it permanent.

Time out: what it can and cannot do

A time out you set yourself is a speed bump. It works because it gives the urge time to pass, and it stops working if you can end it with one tap. PAGCOR’s exclusion page describes the stronger version: a self exclusion order you cannot revoke during its first six months, lifted automatically when its period ends.

If you need that stronger version, the page lists the self exclusion periods as 6 months, 1 year and 5 years, and the family version as 6 months, 1 year and 3 years. The World Health Organization’s fact sheet names required breaks in gambling sessions and self-exclusion among the tools that support people who want to cut down, so a time out is a recognised first move rather than a sign of weakness.

What happens next

When the date arrives, you choose one of three paths. You extend the break, you move to a longer PAGCOR exclusion, or you stop gambling altogether. If you do go back, read the responsible play limits first and decide your limits before you open anything.

If the break was hard, that is information. Call the mental health hotline for a conversation, or look at gambling rehab in the Philippines if a counselor or helpline refers you on.

Common errors