Responsible Gaming — Play Safely, Stay in Control

At sotbaji, responsible gaming is not a compliance checkbox — it is a foundational value that shapes how we design our platform, how we train our support team, and how we interact with every player in Bangladesh. We firmly believe that gambling, when approached responsibly, is a legitimate and enjoyable form of entertainment. Our role is to make sure the environment in which you play supports that healthy relationship.

The vast majority of players who use sotbaji do so without any significant problems. They set a budget, stick to it, and treat gambling for what it is: recreation. However, we recognise that for a minority of players, gambling can escalate from a leisure activity into a harmful compulsion. Problem gambling affects not only the individual player but also their families, finances, and overall wellbeing.

sotbaji takes a proactive approach to player welfare. Rather than waiting for a problem to become severe before intervening, we use account behaviour monitoring, voluntary player tools, and trained support staff to identify and address signs of harmful gambling as early as possible. Our responsible gaming programme is built around four pillars:

• Prevention — Age verification, KYC checks, and clear 18+ messaging to ensure only eligible adults play on sotbaji.
• Empowerment — A full suite of self-management tools (deposit limits, loss limits, time-outs, self-exclusion) that put control in the player's hands.
• Detection — Ongoing monitoring of account activity to spot patterns that may indicate harmful gambling behaviour, triggering outreach from our player welfare team.
• Support — Clear signposting to internal support resources and external organisations that can provide professional help to players in Bangladesh who need it.

sotbaji is strictly an adults-only platform. You must be 18 years of age or older to register an account, make a deposit, place a bet, or play any game on sotbaji.net. This is a hard requirement with no exceptions. Underage gambling is illegal, harmful to young people's development, and contrary to everything sotbaji stands for.

How we verify age: Every new player is required to submit their date of birth during the registration process. Before a player's first withdrawal is processed, our KYC (Know Your Customer) team verifies age by reviewing a government-issued identity document — most commonly a Bangladesh National Identity Card (NID) or valid passport. If the submitted documents reveal that a player is under 18, the account is immediately closed and all deposited funds are returned without any deductions.

Protecting young people at home: If you share a device, computer, or mobile phone with minors, we strongly recommend taking the following steps to prevent accidental or deliberate underage access to gambling sites:

• Never share your sotbaji username and password with anyone, including family members.
• Always log out of your sotbaji account when you finish a session, particularly on shared devices.
• Consider installing parental control or web filtering software on shared devices. Many internet service providers in Bangladesh offer free parental filtering tools — contact your ISP for details.
• Keep payment method details (bKash PIN, Nagad password, bank card details) confidential and out of reach of young people.

One of the most effective tools for maintaining a healthy gambling budget is a deposit limit. By capping how much money you can add to your sotbaji account over a given period, you create a hard boundary that prevents impulsive over-spending, even during an extended losing streak or in the heat of a live cricket betting session.

sotbaji allows you to set deposit limits across three time horizons:

• Daily limit — the maximum you can deposit within any 24-hour period.
• Weekly limit — the maximum across any rolling 7-day window.
• Monthly limit — the maximum across any rolling 30-day window.

You can set your deposit limits from the Responsible Gaming section of your account settings. Limits are applied in Bangladeshi Taka (৳) and can be set to any value you choose, with a minimum denomination of ৳100. There is no maximum — you are free to set a limit that reflects your personal financial situation and comfort level.

Changing your limits: You can reduce your deposit limit at any time and the new, lower limit takes effect immediately. This asymmetry is deliberate — reducing a limit is a protective action and should never be delayed. Increasing a deposit limit, however, is subject to a mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period before the higher limit comes into effect. This gives you time to reconsider the decision when you are not in the middle of a gaming session.

If you reach your deposit limit before the period resets, sotbaji will decline any further deposit attempts and display a clear on-screen message explaining that your limit has been reached. You will not be able to circumvent this restriction by attempting deposits via a different payment method (bKash, Nagad, Rocket, or bank transfer) — the limit applies to the total across all payment channels.

Sometimes the most sensible thing a player can do is step away from gambling entirely for a defined period. A time-out is a short-to-medium-term break from all gambling activity on sotbaji. Unlike self-exclusion (which is a serious, longer-term measure), a time-out is designed for players who recognise they need a pause — perhaps after a rough losing run, during a stressful period in life, or simply because they want to reset their relationship with gambling.

sotbaji offers the following time-out durations:

• 24 hours — a one-day pause, useful for cooling off after a bad session.
• 7 days — a week-long break to regain perspective.
• 30 days — a month-long cooling-off period for more significant concerns.
• 90 days — a three-month break for players dealing with sustained pressure or stress.

What happens during a time-out:

• Your account remains accessible for withdrawal purposes only — you can still log in to request a withdrawal of your remaining balance.
• All deposits and bets are blocked for the duration of the time-out.
• All promotional emails and marketing communications are suspended immediately.
• The time-out cannot be shortened or cancelled once it has been activated. This is intentional — it ensures the break serves its protective purpose.

When your time-out period expires, your account will be automatically reactivated. You will receive an email notification informing you that your account is now active again. You are under no obligation to resume gambling — many players find that a time-out helps them decide to extend their break voluntarily or to activate more permanent protections.

Self-exclusion is the strongest responsible gaming tool available on sotbaji. It is designed for players who have concluded that their gambling has become a serious problem and who need a firm, enforced barrier between themselves and the platform for a significant period of time. If you genuinely feel that gambling is causing harm to your finances, relationships, mental health, or daily functioning, self-exclusion is the right choice — and sotbaji will fully support your decision.

Available self-exclusion periods:

• 6 months
• 1 year
• 3 years
• 5 years
• Permanent (indefinite exclusion with no end date)

What happens when you self-exclude:

Problem gambling rarely develops overnight. It typically begins with subtle shifts in behaviour and attitude that can be easy to dismiss or rationalise. The earlier a player or their loved ones recognise the warning signs, the easier it is to take corrective action before serious harm occurs. Below are the most common indicators that gambling may be moving from recreation into a problem.

• Spending more money on gambling than you originally planned, or gambling with money set aside for essentials like rent, food, or utility bills.
• Chasing losses — continuing to bet in an attempt to win back money you have already lost, often escalating bet sizes in the process.
• Feeling restless, irritable, or anxious when you try to cut back on gambling or when you are unable to access a gambling platform.
• Lying to family members, friends, or colleagues about how much time or money you spend gambling.
• Gambling as a way to escape problems, relieve stress, or manage negative emotions such as loneliness, anxiety, or depression.
• Neglecting work, studies, family responsibilities, or social relationships because of time spent gambling.
• Borrowing money, selling personal possessions, or taking out loans to fund gambling activity.
• Failed attempts to cut back or stop gambling, despite genuinely wanting to do so.
• Spending increasing amounts of time thinking about gambling — replaying past bets, planning future sessions, or calculating odds when not on the platform.

If you recognise several of these signs in your own behaviour, we strongly encourage you to make use of sotbaji's self-management tools and to consider reaching out to a support organisation. Acknowledging a problem is the most important — and most difficult — step, and one that takes genuine courage.

Answering the following questions honestly can help you gauge whether your current relationship with gambling is healthy. There are no right or wrong answers — this is purely for your own reflection. If you answer "yes" to three or more questions, we encourage you to consider activating one of sotbaji's responsible gaming tools or speaking to a support professional.

If you feel that gambling is becoming a problem, reaching out for help is the right move — and it takes real strength to do so. sotbaji's player welfare team is available around the clock to listen, provide guidance, and help you activate any of the responsible gaming tools described on this page. All communications are treated with complete confidentiality.

Contact sotbaji Player Welfare:

• Email: [email protected] (subject line: "Player Welfare Request")
• Response time: Within 2 hours for welfare-related requests (Bangladesh Standard Time, UTC+6)
• Available: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Eid and public holidays

In addition to sotbaji's internal support resources, we encourage players who are experiencing serious gambling-related harm to seek assistance from professional counselling services and support organisations. While Bangladesh's formal problem gambling support infrastructure continues to develop, the following avenues are available:

sotbaji does not profit from problem gambling. Every account that activates a deposit limit, time-out, or self-exclusion is a positive outcome from our perspective. We would rather lose a player's business temporarily than contribute to lasting financial or personal harm. If you need to step away, please do so — and know that help is always available when you are ready to seek it.