How to Stop Gambling: Practical, Evidence-Based Steps

The most reliable way to stop gambling is to not do it alone. People who stop usually combine three things: support from a person or a service (a helpline, a counsellor, a peer group), practical barriers that make gambling harder in a weak moment, and a plan for money and for urges. Setbacks are common and do not mean you have failed. This page walks through each step in the order most people find workable.

If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. If you are in the US and having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988. The help box at the bottom lists gambling helplines by country.

Step 1: reach out

Start by talking to someone who knows this territory. Options include:

• A gambling helpline. Free, confidential and staffed by trained people. You can ask what your options are without committing to anything. See Gambling Helplines by Country (Checked Oct 2026).
• Peer support. Gamblers Anonymous is a free fellowship with meetings in person, online and by telephone. It has no dues or fees, and visitors are welcome. For families, there is Gam-Anon.
• Your doctor. A GP or family doctor can discuss treatment, check for depression or anxiety, and refer you. In England, the NHS says you can also refer yourself to an NHS gambling clinic.
• A counsellor or therapist with gambling experience. Ask a helpline or your doctor for one near you.

The American Psychiatric Association notes that only about one in ten people with gambling disorder seeks treatment. If you take this step, you are doing something most people do not.

Step 2: understand what treatment looks like

Therapy

The best-supported treatment in the research is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a talking therapy that helps you notice the thoughts and situations that lead to gambling, challenge beliefs such as "I am due a win", and practise other responses. A Cochrane review of psychological therapies for problem gambling (Cowlishaw and colleagues, 2012) looked at 14 randomised trials with 1,245 people. It found support for CBT in reducing gambling and related symptoms straight after treatment, only early evidence for motivational interviewing, and too little data to judge other therapies. It also said that how long the benefits last is unknown, because very few trials followed people up for long, and it rated the quality of the evidence as low to very low, so the true effects may be smaller than the trials suggest. That is an honest limit: CBT is the best-supported option we know of, not a cure that is certain to work.

The APA lists several therapy types that are used: cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic therapy, group therapy and family therapy. Counselling can also address money, stress, urges and relapse prevention.

Peer support

Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12-step peer fellowship. Many people find the company of others who have been there valuable, and it costs nothing. It is not an either-or choice with therapy; you can do both.

Medication

The APA states that there are no FDA-approved medications to treat gambling disorder. Doctors may still treat related conditions such as depression or anxiety with medication. Talk to your own doctor; never start, stop or change a medication on your own because of something you read online.

What to expect

Treatment typically begins with a conversation about your gambling, your finances and your mood, followed by a plan. If there is a wait to be seen, a helpline can support you in the meantime.

Step 3: make gambling harder

Willpower is weakest at the worst times, which is why barriers help. Decide on them when you are calm.

• Self-exclusion. Schemes such as GAMSTOP in the UK let you block yourself from licensed gambling companies. GAMSTOP offers 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or 5 years with auto-renewal, and the block can take up to 24 hours to start. See Gambling Self-Exclusion: How It Works and How to Sign Up.
• Blocking software. Apps such as BetBlocker (free, non-profit, and available on iOS) and Gamban block gambling sites and apps on your devices. BetBlocker itself says its list is not complete and that you cannot shorten a restriction once it is active, which is the point. See Gambling Blockers: Gamban, BetBlocker and Bank Blocks.
• Bank and card controls. The NHS suggests asking your bank to block payments to gambling sites and apps.
• Money controls. Hand control of cards and online banking to a trusted person for a while; pay essential bills on payday before anything else (the NHS suggests direct debits or standing orders); carry only the cash you need; do not carry credit cards.
• Remove the apps and accounts. Delete gambling apps, close accounts and unsubscribe from gambling emails and text offers. Mute or block gambling accounts on social media.

None of these is perfect. Blockers can be bypassed by someone determined, which is why they work best combined with support, and you should treat them as speed bumps that buy time for an urge to pass.

Step 4: handle urges

Urges to gamble are a normal part of change. They tend to rise and fall, and they pass faster than they feel as if they will. Practical skills include delaying the decision, distracting yourself with something absorbing, slowing your breathing, deciding in advance what you will do, and telling someone. Gambling Urges: How to Cope Until They Pass goes through these and how to plan for triggers.

Step 5: sort out the money

Gambling harm often arrives with debt, and debt creates pressure to gamble to get out of it, which is a trap. Steps that help:

1. Stop borrowing to gamble or to cover losses.
2. List every debt, who it is owed to, and the minimum payments. It is frightening to write down, but it is the starting point for any plan.
3. Get free advice from a recognised debt-advice service before agreeing to any plan.
4. Contact creditors early. The US Federal Trade Commission notes that talking to your creditors about your options is free and that you do not have to pay anyone to do it for you.
5. Be wary of anyone who asks for fees up front or promises to wipe out your debt. The FTC lists upfront fees and guaranteed settlement as warning signs of debt relief scams.

See Gambling and Debt: Where to Get Money Help for more.

Step 6: tell someone

Secrecy keeps gambling going. You do not have to tell everyone. Pick one person you trust. If it feels impossible, rehearse with a helpline adviser first. See How to Tell Someone About a Gambling Problem. If you are the family member, see How to Help Someone With a Gambling Problem.

Step 7: expect setbacks

Many people slip. A slip does not erase progress and it is information about what to change next. If you gamble again, tell someone the same day, and see Gambling Relapse: What to Do After a Slip.

Step 8: casino-style apps and games

If you play social casino or free casino-style games on your phone, treat them as part of the picture. They use virtual coins, but they copy the sights, sounds and rhythm of gambling, and some people find they set off the same urges. If you are working on stopping gambling, the safest course is to delete these apps too, including any that you think of as harmless, and to remove stored payment methods and subscriptions from your phone. A free-to-play casino-style app is not a treatment, and it is not recommended while you are recovering.

Questions to ask yourself about any app: Does it make me think about gambling? Do I spend money on it? Do I feel worse after? Would I tell my counsellor about it?

When to get help urgently

Seek help straight away if you have thoughts of harming yourself, if you have lost money you cannot recover and feel hopeless, or if you are unable to stop despite wanting to. See Gambling and Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression, Crisis.