Free guide
The 24-Hour Betting Shutdown Plan
For the next 24 hours you’re not going to work on your willpower. You’re going to work on your environment — so that when the urge comes tonight, it runs into a wall instead of a checkout screen.
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Self-exclusion is one wall. The Shutdown Plan walks you through all five layers of the Betting Firewall in one day — apps, phone, money, people, and the state list. Free, first name and email only.
Sign-up opens shortly. In the meantime, every step is on the Shutdown Plan page.
No spam, no selling your data, unsubscribe anytime. If you want structure past day one, the 90-Day Stop Betting Program is the next step — we’ll mention it once in the emails.The day, hour by hour
| When | What you do |
|---|---|
| Hour 0–1 | Block the sportsbooks. Self-exclude in every sportsbook, fantasy, pick’em and prediction-market app. Withdraw your balance first. Start your state’s self-exclusion. Guide → |
| Hours 1–3 | Block the devices. Install a blocker, lock your phone with a passcode someone else holds, delete the apps and saved logins. Guide → |
| Hours 3–6 | Block the money. Map every way money reaches a sportsbook. Remove saved cards, turn on your bank’s gambling block, and consider freezing your credit. |
| Rest of today | Block the noise, tell one person. Unsubscribe, turn off notifications, unfollow the betting accounts. Tell one person you trust what you’re doing. |
| Tonight | Get through the first game. Have a plan for game time, and a 20-minute routine for when the urge hits. It passes. |
| Tomorrow morning | Re-check the firewall. Try to log in to each app to confirm the block held. Then decide what comes next. |
If it’s 9 p.m. when you start, do Hour 0–1 now and Hours 1–3 before bed. Blocking the sportsbooks goes first no matter what.
Why barriers instead of willpower
Right now the distance between an urge and a placed bet is a few seconds. Clinical guidance for gambling harm (for example, the UK’s NICE guideline) specifically recommends practical barriers — blocking software, self-exclusion, blocking gambling payments, and having a trusted person help with money. They work better stacked than alone, which is why the plan closes many doors at once.
If you’re thinking about hurting yourself
The hours after a big loss can be the most dangerous. If that’s where you are, call or text 988 now, or the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET. Free, confidential, 24/7. You don’t need the right words.
This guide is educational self-help. It is not therapy, diagnosis, or medical, legal or financial advice.