This page exists for one reason: if gambling or gaming has stopped being a choice, there is free, confidential help available in the UK, and it works better the earlier you use it.
Get help now
- National Gambling Helpline — 0808 8020 133, free and confidential, open 24 hours a day, every day. Run by GamCare.
- BeGambleAware — information, self-assessment tools and referral to free local treatment.
- GamCare — one-to-one support, group sessions and live chat.
- GAMSTOP — free self-exclusion from every online operator licensed in Great Britain, for six months, one year or five years.
- Gordon Moody — residential and intensive treatment for severe gambling harm.
- Gamblers Anonymous — peer support meetings across the UK.
- NHS gambling clinics — specialist treatment, available by self-referral in much of England.
If you are in immediate distress or crisis, call 999, or contact Samaritans free on 116 123 at any hour.
Tools that actually help
- Deposit limits. Every GB-licensed operator must offer them. Set one before you play, not after a loss.
- Time-outs. A short cooling-off period, from 24 hours upward.
- Self-exclusion. Per operator, or across all licensed online operators through GAMSTOP.
- Blocking software such as Gamban or BetBlocker, which blocks gambling sites at device level.
- Bank gambling blocks. Most UK banks let you block gambling transactions in-app, usually with a delay before it can be lifted.
Signs worth taking seriously
Chasing losses. Gambling more than you planned, or for longer. Borrowing money to gamble. Hiding it from people close to you. Feeling anxious or irritable when you cannot. Gambling to escape stress or low mood. Missing work or commitments.
None of these mean you have a diagnosis. All of them are worth talking to someone about, and the helpline exists exactly for the conversation before things get worse.
The maths, stated plainly
Every casino game has a house edge. Every bookmaker’s market carries a margin. Over time both mean the expected outcome is a loss — that is how the products are built, and no system, strategy or staking plan changes it. Anyone selling you one is selling you something that does not exist.
Gambling is entertainment you pay for. Treated as a way to make money, it reliably does the opposite.
If you are worried about someone else
GamCare supports friends and family as well as gamblers, on the same helpline. You do not need the person’s permission to get advice about your own situation.
Under 18
Gambling is illegal for under-18s in the UK, and adult gaming platforms are not for under-18s either. If you are a parent, network-level filtering through your ISP or router is more effective than browser settings, because it survives a change of browser or device.
18+ only. Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly.