Help if gambling hurts

Signs that gambling has stopped being entertainment

The change from something you enjoy to something that costs too much is often gradual, and easier to see from outside. These signs are worth taking seriously:

• You spend more money or time than you set out to, and it happens more often than not.
• You gamble to win back losses, or to find money you need for something else.
• You borrow, sell belongings or leave bills unpaid so that you can keep playing.
• You keep the amount you gamble from people close to you, or feel restless when you try to cut down.
• Gambling is on your mind during work, meals or time with family, or you feel low after a session.

Even a single item on this list is worth acting on. For a fuller picture, the NHS website offers a short questionnaire of nine questions, the Problem Gambling Severity Index, that you can answer in private.

Talk to someone today

Calls to the National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133) cost nothing, and the line never closes — nights, weekends and holidays included. It is run by GamCare, and the same advisers can be reached by live chat if you would rather type than talk. You can get in touch about your own gambling or about someone else’s, and you do not need to have reached a crisis first.

Shut out every GB online casino at once with GAMSTOP

GAMSTOP is the free national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling in Great Britain. All online operators holding a Commission licence take part, which means one sign-up reaches every one of them. You choose how long it lasts: six months, one year or five years.

A self-exclusion with one casino stops that account and sometimes its sister brands. GAMSTOP is wider, and the two can be used together. Many people pair it with the blocks described below, because each one closes a different door.

Blocking gambling payments and websites

Many banks and card providers let you block payments to gambling companies, usually from the card settings in their app or by asking customer service. Some make you wait a while before a block can be lifted, which helps on a difficult day. Because credit cards may not be used to gamble here — a rule in force since 14 April 2020 — a block on your debit card shuts one of the main ways in.

Blocking programs work on the device itself: once installed on a phone, tablet or laptop, they refuse to open gambling pages and apps. Gamban charges a subscription; BetBlocker is free. Installing one on each device you use, alongside GAMSTOP and a bank block, leaves fewer gaps.

Treatment through the NHS

Specialist NHS treatment for gambling harm is available at regional NHS gambling clinics and at the National Centre for Behavioural Addictions. You can refer yourself or ask your GP to refer you, and treatment is free. The helpline can also tell you which service is nearest.

Groups for you and for the people around you

Gamblers Anonymous holds regular meetings where people who want to stop gambling support one another, with no charge to attend. GamAnon does the same for partners, relatives and friends whose lives are affected by someone else’s gambling.

If someone you love gambles, you can call the helpline yourself; you do not have to wait for them to ask for help. Protecting your own money — a separate account, controls on a shared card — is a sensible step, not a betrayal.

Limits and breaks with a casino you already use

If you keep an account with a casino and want to rein it in, start in the safer gambling section of that account. Operators licensed in Great Britain have to tell customers which tools they offer. The usual options are:

• a deposit cap for each day, week or month (customers who joined after 31 October 2025 will have been asked to choose one before paying in for the first time);
• loss caps, plus on-screen reminders that tell you how much time a session has taken;
• a time-out for a short pause, from a day to a few weeks;
• self-exclusion with that operator, for six months or longer.

Choose a lower limit or a pause at a quiet moment, away from the screen, rather than while a game is running. To stop with every online operator at once, use GAMSTOP. If you ever feel unable to keep yourself safe, call 999 in an emergency or NHS 111 for urgent advice.