Signs of Problem Gambling: What to Look For

Problem gambling is gambling that causes harm to you or the people around you. The clearest signs are gambling more than you can afford, finding it hard to cut down, chasing losses, hiding how much you gamble, and gambling affecting your mood, relationships, work or money. You do not need to have lost everything for it to count. If you are worried, that worry is reason enough to talk to someone, and the help box at the bottom of this page lists free, confidential services.

If you need to talk to someone now

If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. If you are thinking about suicide or self-harm and you are in the United States, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is free and open 24 hours a day. The help box at the bottom of this page lists gambling helplines by country. You do not have to be sure you have a problem to call. Helplines talk to people who are worried about themselves, about someone else, or simply want information.

Everyday signs

Problem gambling is usually described as an emotional problem with money and other consequences, not only a money problem (National Council on Problem Gambling). Signs tend to fall into a few groups. Having one of them does not mean you have a problem, but a pattern of several, lasting weeks or months, deserves attention.

Money

• Betting more than you can afford to lose, or using money meant for bills, rent or food.
• Borrowing money, using credit, or selling things to gamble or to cover losses.
• Needing to bet larger amounts to get the same feeling.
• Money problems that other people in your household notice.

Chasing

• Going back to try to win back what you lost, often the same day. This is called chasing losses.
• Telling yourself the next bet will fix the last one.

Time and thoughts

• Constant thoughts about gambling: replaying past bets, planning the next one, working out how to find money for it.
• Gambling for longer than you meant to, or losing track of time.
• Gambling taking time from sleep, study, work, or people you care about.

Mood and control

• Feeling restless or irritable when you try to cut down.
• Trying to stop or cut back and not managing to.
• Gambling to escape stress, low mood, loneliness, anxiety or guilt.
• Feeling guilty or ashamed about your gambling afterwards.

Secrecy

• Hiding how much you gamble, or lying about it.
• Getting defensive when someone asks.
• Hiding statements, deleting transaction histories, or opening accounts others do not know about.

The nine criteria clinicians use, in plain words

Doctors and psychologists use a list of nine criteria from the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual (DSM-5) to decide whether someone has gambling disorder. The list below is a plain-language paraphrase, not the manual's wording, and the APA's web page words and groups a few items slightly differently. According to the APA, a diagnosis requires at least four criteria within the past year (the DSM-5 also requires that the gambling causes clinically significant distress or impairment), and only a trained professional can make it.

The DSM-5 itself (not the APA's public web page, which does not list severity levels) grades severity by the number of criteria met: four to five is mild, six to seven is moderate, eight to nine is severe. Those bands describe how many criteria apply, not how deserving you are of help. People at the mild end can and do benefit from support, and symptoms can ease for periods and then return, according to the APA.

Please treat this table as a way to describe your own experience to a professional, not as a test. If you want a structured self-check made by others, see Am I Addicted to Gambling? Self-Check Tools.

Signs in social casino play

Social casino games use virtual coins, so nothing you play for can be cashed out. They are still casino-style, and research suggests they matter most for people who are already vulnerable. In a survey of 521 adults who had played social casino games in the past year, most (about 71 percent) said the games had no effect on how much they gambled, but about 19 percent said they had gambled for money as a direct result, and this was more common among younger people, men, heavier players and people with more severe gambling problems (Gainsbury and colleagues, 2016). That survey shows an association, not cause and effect, and it describes a group of people who chose to take part.

Signs that casino-style play on a phone may be becoming a problem include:

• Spending on coins or extras beyond what you planned, or more than you would be comfortable telling someone close to you.
• Hiding purchases, deleting receipts or app history.
• Playing to escape or to numb a bad mood rather than for enjoyment.
• Feeling irritable when you cannot play, or playing longer than you meant to.
• Finding that free play has stopped being enough and thinking about gambling for money.

If this sounds familiar, see When Free Casino Games Stop Being Fun.

What to do next

1. Talk to someone. Call or chat with one of the services in the help box below. They are free and confidential, and you do not need to be in crisis. See also Gambling Helplines by Country (Checked Oct 2026).
2. Tell one person you trust. It is often the hardest step and the one that makes the biggest difference. How to Tell Someone About a Gambling Problem has ideas for what to say.
3. Put a barrier between you and gambling. Blocking tools, bank blocks and self-exclusion make gambling harder in the moments when your resolve is lowest. See Gambling Blockers: Gamban, BetBlocker and Bank Blocks and Gambling Self-Exclusion: How It Works and How to Sign Up.
4. Look at the full picture. How to Stop Gambling: Practical, Evidence-Based Steps covers treatment, urges, money and what to expect.
5. See a doctor if gambling is affecting your mood. Gambling problems often occur alongside depression or anxiety, and both can be treated.