Dear Lottery - Responsible Gaming
Dear Lottery responsible gaming: how to set deposit and time limits, recognise problem-gambling warning signs, self-exclude, and reach confidential 18+ support helplines.
Play within your limits
Playing the Dear Lottery should always be a form of affordable entertainment, never a strategy for income or debt recovery. Before purchasing any ticket, decide on a fixed weekly or monthly budget and treat it exactly like any other leisure expense, such as a cinema trip or a meal out. A practical starting point is capping lottery spending at 1 to 2% of your monthly disposable income, so that a household earning ₹30,000 a month would set a ceiling of ₹300 to ₹600.
When paying through PhonePe, Google Pay or BHIM, use the built-in spending-summary screen to review your total outgoings at the end of each week. These apps categorise UPI transactions automatically, so you can see your lottery spend at a glance alongside groceries and utilities. If your lottery line item is growing faster than any other category, that is an early signal to reassess. Never fund ticket purchases from a credit card or BNPL service, if you cannot afford the ticket with money already in your account, do not buy it.
Warning signs of problem gambling
Problem gambling rarely appears overnight. Common behavioural signs include spending more on tickets than you planned, concealing purchases from a spouse or parent, borrowing money to play, or neglecting work and family commitments to follow draw results. Financial red flags include unexplained shortfalls in your bank account, unpaid EMIs, or repeatedly asking friends for small loans without giving a reason.
Emotional warning signs are equally important: feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut back, using lottery play to escape stress or loneliness, or believing that one large win will clear all your debts. In the Indian context, cultural pressure around financial success can make it harder to admit a problem, but recognising even two or three of these signs is a strong reason to use the protective tools listed in the sections below without delay.
Deposit, loss and time limits
Structured limits are the most reliable safeguard against overspending. On dear-lottery.in.net you can set three types of voluntary limit from your account dashboard: a deposit limit (the maximum you can add to your wallet per day, week or month), a loss limit (the maximum net loss permitted over the same periods), and a time limit (an automatic session reminder or hard stop after a chosen number of minutes). For example, setting a weekly deposit limit of ₹200 means the system will decline any top-up that would take you above that figure, regardless of how the payment is made, PhonePe, GPay or net banking.
Limit reductions take effect immediately. Limit increases, by contrast, carry a mandatory 48-hour cooling-off period before they become active, giving you time to reconsider. We recommend reviewing your limits every three months alongside your broader household budget. If you share finances with a partner, consider setting limits together and making them visible to each other as an additional layer of accountability.
Self-exclusion and cool-off
If limits alone are not enough, two stronger options are available. A cool-off period temporarily suspends your account for 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days, your choice. During this window you cannot log in, purchase tickets or receive promotional messages. It is designed for moments when you feel your play is becoming impulsive but you expect to return to responsible habits relatively soon.
Self-exclusion is a longer-term commitment: a minimum of six months, with options extending to one, three or five years, or permanently. To activate self-exclusion, go to Account → Responsible Gaming → Self-Exclude, choose your duration, and confirm with your registered mobile OTP. Reinstatement after the minimum period requires a written request, a 7-day further cooling period, and a brief self-assessment questionnaire. We will also remove your details from all marketing lists for the duration of your exclusion.