How to Help Someone With a Gambling Problem

If someone you love gambles in a way that is hurting them or you, you cannot make them stop, but you can look after yourself, talk to them calmly, protect your own money, and point them toward help. Support services for families exist and are free, and you do not need the person who gambles to agree to ask for help for yourself.

If anyone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. If you are in the US and someone is talking about suicide, call or text 988. See Gambling and Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression, Crisis.

Look after yourself first

Problem gambling affects the people close to the gambler, often through money, trust and stress. The National Council on Problem Gambling describes it as an emotional problem with financial and other consequences, and that goes for the whole household. Steps for you:

• Get your own support. Gam-Anon offers peer support for people affected by someone else's gambling, and it lists a meeting directory of in-person and online meetings. The NHS also names GamAnon, GamFam (a lived-experience network) and, for people bereaved by gambling-related suicide, Gambling with Lives. NHS gambling clinics in England can support family or friends too.
• Talk to a helpline. Gambling helplines are open to people who are worried about someone else, not only to people who gamble. See Gambling Helplines by Country (Checked Oct 2026).
• Check in with yourself. GambleAware has a short friends and family check-in for people in Great Britain.
• Keep other parts of your life going. Sleep, friends, work, exercise. You will be more use to everyone if you are not depleted.
• Remember it is not your fault. You did not cause the gambling, and you cannot control it.

Start the conversation

Choose a calm time, in private, when neither of you is tired or has been drinking, and not straight after a loss or an argument. Start from concern, not accusation. Examples:

• "I have noticed you seem stressed lately, and I am worried about us. Can we talk about it?"
• "I am not here to blame you. I love you, and I want to understand what is going on."
• "I found some things about the money that I do not understand. I would like to go through them together."
• "Would you be willing to talk to someone who knows about this? I can help find someone."

Tips:

• Use "I" statements about what you have seen and how you feel.
• Stay with specific facts (dates, amounts) rather than character judgments ("you are a liar").
• Listen more than you talk. Shame is a big part of gambling harm, and people who feel attacked often shut down.
• Do not expect a single conversation to fix things. Denial or anger is common at first. Leave the door open: "I will be here when you want to talk."
• If the person is not ready, you can still make your own plan for money and support.

How to Tell Someone About a Gambling Problem is written for the person who gambles, and may help you understand their side.

What tends to help and what does not

Often helps

• Staying calm and keeping communication open.
• Encouraging contact with a helpline, doctor or counsellor, and offering to go with them.
• Suggesting practical barriers, such as blocking tools, bank blocks or self-exclusion, and offering to help set them up if they agree. See Gambling Blockers: Gamban, BetBlocker and Bank Blocks.
• Acknowledging steps forward, however small.
• Agreeing clear, shared money rules that you both understand.

Often does not help

• Shaming, lecturing or threatening again and again.
• Checking constantly or searching their things, which can raise secrecy and conflict (though protecting your own accounts is a different matter; see below).
• Paying off gambling debts without a plan. The American Psychiatric Association lists relying on others to bail you out of money trouble caused by gambling as one of the criteria for gambling disorder, which is a reason to be cautious about repeated rescues. Whether to help is your decision and can be a hard one. A counsellor or helpline can talk it through.
• Giving cash that could be used to gamble.
• Taking over all responsibility, so the person never faces the consequences or the choice to change.

Protect money and credit

You are allowed to protect yourself and your children financially, whatever the other person decides.

1. Separate what you can. Consider your own bank account for essentials and income. Ask a financial adviser about joint accounts, joint loans and credit cards in both names.
2. Cover essentials first. Rent or mortgage, utilities, food and transport. Direct debits or standing orders on payday help.
3. Review accounts and credit. Check statements and credit reports for debts in your name. Many countries let you check your credit report; ask a debt adviser how.
4. Consider limiting access. Cards, online banking and savings that the person can reach in a crisis can be locked, shared with controls, or held by a trusted third party, if all parties agree.
5. Get free debt advice. See Gambling and Debt: Where to Get Money Help. Beware of companies that charge up-front fees or promise to erase debt; the US Federal Trade Commission lists these as warning signs of scams.
6. Seek legal or financial advice if you are worried about shared liability or your home. Rules vary a lot by country and state.

Help lines for families

The help box at the bottom of this page lists services in several countries. These are the family-specific resources we verified:

• Gam-Anon (gam-anon.org) for peer support groups and a meeting directory.
• NHS gambling clinics, GamAnon, GamFam and Gambling with Lives in the UK, listed on the NHS page.
• GambleAware's friends and family check-in for Great Britain.
• Gambling helplines, which are open to concerned family members and friends as well as people who gamble.

When there is risk of harm

Gambling harm can come with depression and anxiety. The American Psychiatric Association notes that people with gambling problems have an increased risk of suicide. Take talk of hopelessness, being a burden or ending their life seriously.

• If you think someone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
• In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is free, confidential and open 24/7. It also helps people who want to support a friend or loved one.
• Stay with the person if you can, and ask directly whether they are thinking about suicide.
• See Gambling and Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression, Crisis.

Domestic safety is a separate concern. If you are afraid of the person, contact local emergency services or a domestic abuse service in your area.

Children and gaming apps

If a child or teenager is involved, whether as someone affected by an adult's gambling or as a young person who plays gambling-style games, a few steps help.

• Talk about it in plain terms. Children usually sense tension even when they do not know the cause.
• Use parental controls on phones and consoles. On iPhone, Screen Time can require approval for purchases and restrict in-app purchases. See Gambling Blockers: Gamban, BetBlocker and Bank Blocks.
• Ask what your child plays and what they spend, including in games where no real money can be won.
• Keep payment methods out of reach of children, and keep adult casino-style apps off children's devices.
• If a young person is gambling for money, a helpline or doctor can advise on next steps.