An app that makes you pause before you bet

Start here: Not the rest of life. Just tonight.

Hold The Bet puts a pause between you and the bet. When the urge hits, you open your card instead of the app: your own reason, a slow breath, and a choice to text someone or lock the book. Blocking can be undone in a minute. Many people find a pause that shows up right before the bet harder to skip.

If you feel unsafe or are thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 now (in Canada, 9-8-8). If you are in danger, call your local emergency number. The full list of lines by country is at the bottom of this page.

Why a pause, and not only a block?

Many people describe the same problem with blockers: too easy to get around, undone in a minute, or gone the day the subscription ran out. A block is a wall. Walls help, and you should still put them up. But the urge does not care about walls. It looks for the gap. A pause works at a different moment: the few seconds between "I want to bet" and the bet itself.

What happens when you open the card?

1. Your own reason, in your own words. The one you wrote when you were calm.
2. Your own number. What betting has cost you, as you chose to put it.
3. A 30 second breath. Not a lecture, just time.
4. Two buttons. Text someone you trust in one tap, or LOCK, where you pick a sportsbook to reach its self exclusion page, or block the sites you choose on this phone.

If you still want to bet after that, it is your choice. The point is that it becomes a choice again, not a reflex.

Can it open by itself when I open a betting app?

On iPhone, yes. The free Shortcuts app can open your card every time you open a betting app, so the pause shows up before the app does. It takes about three minutes to set up, and the setup guide walks you through it with screenshots. On Android, put the card on your Home Screen where the betting app used to be.

What does it cost, and what does it know about me?

It is free. You do not need an account, and there are no ads and nothing to buy. Your reason and the person you text stay on your phone. It is a self help tool, not treatment, and it is not a sportsbook: it never moves money.

What else should I set up?

A pause works best alongside a wall and a person:

• A wall: block betting sites on your phone and self exclude.
• A harder wall: make a block harder to undo.
• A person: someone who knows, even if it is just a helpline. In the US, 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), call, text or chat, 24/7.

Try the pause now

Write your reason and your number once. The next time the urge shows up, the pause is one tap away.