Gambling Addiction Help: Signs and Support

Getting help for a gambling addiction usually involves three fronts at once: cutting off access to gambling, telling someone you trust, and getting treatment, ideally cognitive behavioural therapy. Clinically, it is called gambling disorder. The World Health Organization estimates it affects 1.2% of the world’s adult population (WHO, 2024).

In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission’s 2025 survey found, using a different and broader measure, that 2.4% of adults scored 8 or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index, roughly 1.3 million people (Gambling Commission, 2025).

This guide covers the warning signs, the first practical steps, what to do after a big loss and where to find free support in Great Britain.

If you are thinking about ending your life, call Samaritans free on 116 123 at any hour (samaritans.org), or call 999 if you are in immediate danger. For anyone whose gambling is seriously affecting their mental health, the NHS also points to urgent mental health help (NHS).

Key points

• Gambling disorder is recognised in DSM-5 and ICD-11, which defines it by impaired control, gambling taking priority and carrying on despite harm.
• About 2.4% of adults in Great Britain score in the problem gambling range, according to the Gambling Commission’s 2025 survey.
• GAMSTOP blocks online gambling with British-licensed operators for a chosen minimum period of 6 months, 1 year or 5 years, cannot be cancelled early, and stays on until you ask for it to be removed.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy has the strongest evidence, although how long the gains last is still unknown.
• The NHS runs specialist gambling clinics in England that accept self-referrals, and the National Gambling Helpline is free 24 hours a day.

This article gives information and guidance. It does not replace an assessment by a mental health professional.

What is gambling addiction?

Gambling addiction is the everyday name for gambling disorder, which ICD-11 defines by three requirements. First comes impaired control over when, how much and how long you gamble. Next, gambling takes increasing priority, to the point that it pushes aside other interests and daily activities, and it carries on despite negative consequences (WHO, 2024). Both ICD-11 and DSM-5 describe it alongside substance use disorders, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2024).

A 2025 review in the American Journal of Psychiatry sums up its status: it is the only behavioural addiction recognised as a clinical disorder in DSM-5 (Brand et al., 2025).

That sets gambling apart from other patterns people call addictions. Compulsive sexual behaviour, which can include porn use, was classified differently in ICD-11 (WHO, 2018). The guide on how to stop watching porn explains what a behavioural addiction is and how it differs from substance addiction.

Compulsive gambling has defined diagnostic criteria, and ICD-11 allows for the pattern to be online or offline (ICD-11).

Signs gambling has become a problem

One of the best-known signs is trying to win back lost money by gambling more, which psychiatry calls chasing losses. It is one of the American Psychiatric Association’s criteria. Two others are lying to hide how much you gamble and relying on others to help with money problems caused by gambling (APA).

NHS screening questions add some that anyone can ask themselves. Do you bet more than you can afford to lose, do you need larger amounts to get the same feeling, have you borrowed money or sold anything to gamble (NHS)?

A diagnosis needs at least four of the APA’s nine criteria in the past year, counting the three already mentioned (chasing losses, lying about gambling and relying on others for money problems). The other six are (APA):

• frequent thoughts about gambling, reliving past bets or planning the next ones;
• needing to gamble with increasing amounts to get the same excitement;
• repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop;
• restlessness or irritability when cutting down;
• gambling to escape problems or a low mood;
• losing important opportunities, such as a job, studies or close relationships, because of gambling.

The NHS questionnaire adds feeling guilty about the way you gamble and other people criticising your betting (NHS).

These signs are a reason to talk to a professional, not a way to diagnose yourself. On the NHS questionnaire, a score of 8 or more indicates that a person, or those closest to them, is likely to be experiencing gambling-related harms. Scores from 1 to 7 can still mean gambling is having a negative impact (NHS).

Why does online betting make it harder to stop?

Online gambling shrinks the gap between an urge and a bet almost to nothing. According to the WHO, because gambling is available online, it is accessible almost anywhere and at any time, and aggressive promotion in popular and social media increases gambling activity (WHO, 2024).

More bluntly, the Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling said that anyone with a mobile phone now has “a casino in their pocket, 24 hours a day”. It added that sophisticated marketing and technology make it easier to start and harder to stop gambling (EurekAlert / The Lancet Public Health, 2024).

In its 2020 strategic assessment, the Gambling Commission found that the speed and frequency of the gambling opportunity affects risk. It also found online slots, casino and bingo to be higher risk, and in-play betting to allow rapid, repeat activity, a known risk factor for problem gambling (Gambling Commission, 2020). A bet placed mid-match, seconds after the last one, leaves little room for second thoughts.

Phones are also home to other compulsive habits. If the problem seems to be the device more than the betting, the article on phone addiction symptoms helps tell the two apart.

Causes and consequences of gambling addiction

The causes of gambling addiction mix personal, social and product factors. According to the WHO, significant life events such as separation, retirement, injury or the death of a loved one can raise the risk, as can poverty, discrimination and other social disadvantage (WHO, 2024).

The American Psychiatric Association names younger age, male gender, trauma, social inequality, low income and unemployment as possible risk factors, and links the rise in people with gambling problems to the rise in gambling opportunities (APA). Heavy promotion of gambling online and through sport also risks normalising it for children and young people, the WHO adds (WHO, 2024).

Gambling harm rarely stays in the bank account. Among the harms of gambling, the WHO lists increased mental illness and suicide, relationship breakdown, family violence, financial distress and crimes to get money, such as theft and fraud (WHO, 2024).

According to the American Psychiatric Association, gambling disorder carries the highest suicide risk of any substance use or addictive disorder (APA).

In England, a government evidence review estimated that between 117 and 496 suicides each year are associated with problem gambling or gambling disorder (OHID, 2023).

Suicide figures need careful reading. A Swedish study of 2,099 people treated for the disorder found suicide mortality 15 times higher than in the general population, and depression predicted those deaths (Karlsson and Håkansson, 2018).

However, a later analysis by the same research group suggests that other health conditions and socioeconomic status appear to be important reasons for the extra risk (Karlsson et al., 2025). In practice, that makes it all the more important to treat the anxiety and depression that can travel with gambling.

How do you stop gambling?

As a first concrete step, remove access before relying on willpower. GAMSTOP, a free self-exclusion scheme, blocks you from signing up for or using online accounts with gambling companies licensed in Great Britain. You choose a period from 6 months up to 5 years, you cannot cancel during that period, and the exclusion stays in place afterwards until you contact GAMSTOP to remove it (GAMSTOP).

Separate schemes listed by the Gambling Commission cover betting shops, casinos and bingo venues, so someone who also gambles in person can exclude there as well (Gambling Commission). GAMSTOP only covers British-licensed operators, which is why the next steps matter.

Alongside support, the NHS recommends a few more measures (NHS):

1. Ask your bank to block payments to gambling websites and apps.
2. Install Gamban.
3. Pay important bills, such as rent or the mortgage, on payday, using direct debits or standing orders.
4. Spend more time with family and friends who do not gamble, and talk to someone you trust about what is happening.

Telling someone is often the hardest step, since hiding the gambling is itself a sign of the disorder. Whoever you tell does not have to fix anything, only to know and help keep the blocks in place. It also helps to map the moments when the urge shows up, and the article on emotional triggers shows how to spot those situations before they turn into a bet.

Lost money gambling: what to do now

After a big loss, do not try to win the money back by betting again. Chasing losses is one of the American Psychiatric Association’s criteria, and the same list includes relying on others to help with money problems caused by gambling (APA).

Separately, the NHS advises dealing with debts rather than ignoring them, with help from the National Debtline, never treating gambling as a way to make money, and talking to someone you trust (NHS).

In the hours after a loss, that advice turns into a practical order: switch on GAMSTOP and your bank block, keep cards out of easy reach and tell someone. Citizens Advice can also help with finances and gambling, and the NHS lists it among its support services (NHS). If the loss has brought thoughts of suicide, Samaritans on 116 123 and 999 come before any spreadsheet. Negotiating with creditors comes later, once you are safe and have proper debt advice from a service such as National Debtline or Citizens Advice. This article does not go into it.

Is there treatment for gambling addiction?

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the treatment with the strongest evidence for gambling addiction. One Cochrane review of 14 studies and 1,245 participants found benefits ranging from medium, for money lost to gambling, to very large, for symptom severity, straight after therapy. The authors caution that how long those gains last is unknown (Cowlishaw et al., Cochrane, 2012). Long-term cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing are, for the WHO, the most effective approaches available today (WHO, 2024).

NHS gambling clinics in England bring psychiatrists and psychologists together to treat the problem, support recovery, address related health needs and help family members (NHS).

Medication plays a smaller role. No medication is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for gambling disorder (APA).

Opioid antagonists are considered the first-line drug option, but a meta-analysis found small effects against placebo (Goslar et al., 2019). A psychiatrist can assess whether depression, anxiety or alcohol use need treatment in their own right.

What about hypnotherapy? For gambling specifically, the evidence is thin. A search of the Europe PMC database for this article found only one controlled study, with 49 people. One group had 11 therapy sessions and the other had 7 sessions that included self-hypnosis, and abstinence was similar in both (Lloret et al., 2014). Its authors suggest self-hypnosis as a supporting technique, and only in that role, added to CBT and resting on a single small study, does hypnosis belong here.

In my own hypnotherapy practice, hypnosis sits alongside psychological support and blocking access to gambling, never in place of them.

Where to get help in Great Britain

In England, you can self-refer to a specialist NHS gambling clinic or ask a GP about local services (NHS). Across Great Britain, the National Gambling Helpline offers free information, support and counselling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 0808 8020 133 in England and Scotland, and 0808 2819 265 in Wales (Gambling Commission).

Families affected by someone else’s gambling can also use the NHS clinics, and the NHS points them to GamAnon meetings and to Gambling with Lives for people bereaved by gambling-related suicide (NHS). Gamblers Anonymous runs local 12-step groups with no appointment needed, and its helpline is 0330 094 0322 (Gamblers Anonymous).

Help routes at a glance:

Frequently asked questions

Is gambling addiction a mental illness?

Yes. In ICD-11, the World Health Organization defines gambling disorder by three requirements: impaired control over gambling, increasing priority given to gambling over other interests, and carrying on despite negative consequences (WHO, 2024). DSM-5, the American psychiatric manual, recognises it too, and it is the only behavioural addiction accepted there as a clinical disorder (Brand et al., 2025). Only a health professional can make that diagnosis.

Can I get NHS treatment for gambling?

Yes, in England. Specialist NHS gambling treatment clinics have psychiatrists and psychologists, and you can self-refer to one near you or ask a GP about local services (NHS). Anywhere in Great Britain, the National Gambling Helpline is free and open 24 hours a day on 0808 8020 133 in England and Scotland, or 0808 2819 265 in Wales (Gambling Commission).

How does GAMSTOP work?

GAMSTOP is a free self-exclusion scheme that blocks you from signing up for or using online accounts with gambling companies licensed in Great Britain. You choose a minimum period of 6 months, 1 year or 5 years (NHS). You cannot cancel during that period, and the exclusion stays in place afterwards until you contact GAMSTOP to remove it (GAMSTOP). It does not cover operators without a British licence, so pairing it with a bank gambling block closes more gaps.

Is there medication for gambling addiction?

No medication is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat gambling disorder (APA). Opioid antagonists are considered the first-line drug option, but a meta-analysis found small effects against placebo and called for larger trials (Goslar et al., 2019). A psychiatrist can check whether another condition, such as depression, needs medication in its own right.

Can hypnotherapy help you stop gambling?

So far, the evidence is thin. A search of the Europe PMC database for this article found only one controlled study, comparing 49 people: one group had 11 therapy sessions and the other had 7 sessions that included self-hypnosis, with no difference in abstinence between them (Lloret et al., 2014). Its authors suggest self-hypnosis as a supporting technique, and that is the role it fits: an addition to cognitive behavioural therapy, never a replacement.

If you recognised yourself in several of the signs above, gambling addiction help is free: the National Gambling Helpline or a GP is a reasonable place to start, and GAMSTOP can be set up today. If today is a hard day, Samaritans answer on 116 123, free, at any hour.