A time out locks you out of a casino account for a set period and reopens on its own. Where to find it, what it does, and what it does not.
A time out is a short break. You lock yourself out of the account for a set period, the operator stops you logging in to gamble, and at the end it reopens on its own.
It is the lightest of the three tools on this page, and it is the one to reach for when you want to stop for a while rather than stop altogether.
Account settings, under a heading that is usually Responsible Gambling, Safer Gambling or Player Protection. Depending on the operator the control is called Take a Break, Time Out or Cool Off.
If you cannot find it, contact support and ask for a time out in writing. Asking in writing matters, because it gives you a dated record that you asked.
Blocks access to gambling for the period you choose, then lifts automatically.
Your balance normally stays in the account rather than being returned to you, which is one of the real differences from self-exclusion. Marketing may continue unless you also turn it off, so turn it off separately while you are in the settings.
Here is the honest position.
The Gambling Commission sets out detailed rules for self-exclusion, including its minimum and maximum periods. We could not find an equivalent Commission provision setting the length of a time out. So the lengths your operator offers, commonly a day, a week, a month or six weeks, are the operator's own product rather than a regulated minimum we can point you to.
That matters in one practical way. If the operator fails to honour a self-exclusion, you are pointing at a published rule. If it fails to honour a time out, you are pointing at its own terms. Both are worth complaining about. The first has firmer ground under it.
Then you want self-exclusion, not a time out, and the difference is deliberate.
Under the Commission's ordinary code for remote licensees, a self-exclusion runs for a minimum of not less than six nor more than twelve months, customers must be offered the option of up to at least five years, and it can be extended on request in further periods of at least six months. At the end of the period chosen, self-exclusion "remains in place, for a minimum of 7 years, unless the customer takes positive action to gamble again", and a customer who does come back "is given one day to cool off before being allowed to access gambling facilities".
A time out has none of that structure. It ends by itself and you are back.
A time out at one operator does nothing at any other.
If the point of the break is to stop for a while, set it everywhere you hold an account on the same day, or use self-exclusion, which in Britain can be applied across operators through the national scheme.
How the three break types differ is covered in cooling off, time out or self exclusion, which one you actually want.
UK Gambling Commission, LCCP ordinary code 3.5.4 (remote). https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp/condition/3-5-4-remote-ordinary-code
UK Gambling Commission, LCCP social responsibility code 3.5.3 (remote). https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp/condition/3-5-3-remote-sr-code
| Time out | Self-exclusion | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Set by the operator, no Commission rule we could find | Minimum 6 to 12 months, option of up to at least 5 years |
| Ends | Automatically | Only on positive action, and stays a minimum of 7 years |
| Your balance | Normally stays in the account | Funds in the account must be returned |
| Marketing | Turn it off separately | Must be stopped, within two days of the notification |
| Coming back | Immediate when it expires | One day cooling off first |
Operators generally do not allow it, which is the point of setting one. If an operator does let you reverse a break immediately on request, that is worth knowing about it.
A time out normally leaves the balance in place. Self-exclusion is different: the Commission requires licensees to close the account and return any funds held in it.
Not necessarily. Turn marketing off separately in the same settings screen. Under self-exclusion the operator must take all reasonable steps to stop marketing and must act within two days of the completed notification.
Self-exclusion periods are quoted from UKGC LCCP 3.5.3 and 3.5.4. Where to find the setting and time out lengths are general guidance. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.