The Bureau is meant to be a pleasant hour, not the whole evening. Two tools in your account help keep it that way, and both take seconds to set up. Both sit in your account.
Play reminders. Choose an interval between 15 and 60 minutes. Once it passes, a calm notice appears and tells you how long you have been playing, so you can decide whether to carry on or stop. It simply interrupts, which is the point.
Take a break. Go to your account, choose Take a break and pick a length: 24 h, 7 days, 30 days or 182 days. For that period the games stay closed on your account, so choose the length you mean. Because accounts live in your browser on your device, a break applies to that device; if you play on more than one, set it on each.
Neither tool needs a reason, and nobody at the Bureau will ask for one. Using them is a sensible habit, the same as setting an alarm before a nap. You will not see a message asking you to reconsider, and there is no offer waiting at the end of a break to tempt you back.
Social games carry no stake of real value, but they can still take up more time or attention than you planned. If play, here or anywhere else, is starting to worry you or someone close to you, these UK organisations offer free, confidential support. GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, open day and night. GAMSTOP lets you exclude yourself from online gambling sites licensed in Great Britain. Gordon Moody offers residential and online treatment. Gambling Therapy provides support online in several languages. All of them are free to contact, and you do not need to be in crisis to get in touch.
Our Responsible gaming page lists all of them alongside a short self-check. If you would like to talk to us about your account, the help pages explain how.
Gaming Bureau is a free-to-play social casino for adults in the UK. For entertainment only: no real money, no in-app purchases, and Stamps have no cash value.
