Immediate help
If you need to speak to someone right now:
- National Gambling Helpline (GamCare): 0808 8020 133 — free, 24/7, confidential.
- NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic: referral via your GP or self-referral.
- Samaritans: 116 123 — if gambling distress has become a mental-health crisis.
Self-exclusion
GAMSTOP is the free national multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. It blocks you from every UKGC-licensed gambling site for 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. One sign-up covers every UK-licensed casino and bookmaker.
GAMSTOP does not cover offshore sites listed on our non GamStop guide. If you have signed up to GAMSTOP, please reconsider using those sites. Your decision to self-exclude was made for good reason.
Free support organisations
- GamCare — Helpline, live chat, treatment referral, peer-support forums.
- BeGambleAware — Independent funder of treatment, helpline routes, public education.
- Gambling Therapy — Free online counselling for those affected by gambling and their families.
- Gamblers Anonymous — Free peer-support meetings across the UK.
- Gordon Moody — Residential and online treatment for severe gambling addiction.
Signs that gambling has become a problem
These signals do not all need to apply, but if several do, it may be time to take a break.
- Spending more time or money on gambling than you intended.
- Chasing losses — increasing stakes to try to recover.
- Lying about how much you gamble.
- Borrowing money to gamble, or selling possessions to fund gambling.
- Gambling affecting work, study, relationships or sleep.
- Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut back.
Tools you can use right now
- Deposit limits — set daily, weekly or monthly limits at every gambling site you use.
- Loss limits — automatic stop when net losses hit your threshold.
- Time-out — short cooling-off (24h to 6 weeks) without full exclusion.
- Session reminders — pop-up time and spend reminders during play.
- Bank-level gambling block — Monzo, Starling, Lloyds, NatWest and many others let you switch off gambling transactions in-app.
- Software blockers — Gamban and BetBlocker block gambling sites at the device level.
Help for friends and family
If someone you care about is struggling, GamCare and Gambling Therapy both offer support for affected family members. You are not alone, and there is help available — for them and for you.
