A complete guide for new and experienced players

help centers for gambling addiction

Gambling online can cause gambling addiction that may result in financial losses and more. We have assembled a list of Help Centers to help problem gamblers seek professional help. Treatment for gambling addiction is the ultimate step for a better life.

International help centers and free self-exclusion tool

Through the website, you can talk with a professional agent and receive free practical advice and emotional support. For more information click here. 

The website offers a community where you can find other users talking about their experiences and their goal to be free from their bad habits. It also offers a chat room where you can talk about what you are going through and receive emotional support. The scheduled sessions are available every Tuesday and they are open to everyone! For more information please click here. 

BetBlocker is not a website but a free tool that is used for two purposes. To control your gambling and for parental control. The tool blocks access from over 15.520 gambling websites. By selecting the period of self exclusion, you WILL NOT be able to reverse the restriction until the date you have selected. For more information click here. 

Help Centers in North America

National Council on Problem Gambling offers help in all 50 States of America. Problem gamblers can benefit by using the helpline, chat support, and more. To visit the website click here. 

Funded by the Government of Ontario, it provides free services. Problem gamblers can chat, call and talk via phone with a specialized agent. The website provides contact information for services that take place at gamblers near the area of their residence. To visit the website click here.

Help Centers in Europe

The website and its services are free of charge. The problem gambler can call in order to make an appointment. To check the website click here. 

Through the website, problem gamblers can receive online professional help. The services are free of charge. To check the website click here.

The website provides anonymous online help chat for problem gamblers that reside in Bulgaria. Additionally, it provides an analytical map with help centers on each area. For more info click here.

It provides telephone for residents of Croatia to make an appointment. The treatment program consists of group therapy and more. The program usually lasts 90 days and the problem gambler has the advantage of not leaving family and work environment during the therapy. For more info click here.

The non-profit voluntary organization offers a helpline for problem gamblers that reside in Cyprus. Behind the line, there are friendly and professional psychologists and social workers, willing to help and guide. To check the website click here.

The Website provides free-of-charge services. Problem gamblers have the opportunity to send an email asking for help. The website provides analytical information about helplines and more. Some meetings take place every week or month in different parts of the country.

The website provides information about free-cost therapy programs on gambling addiction in every city of Denmark. There are also free online gambling addiction treatments as well. To check the website click here.

Peluuri provides free-cost services. The concerned gambler can call and receive professional help and guidance. There are helplines for emergency calls as well. The website accepts all residents of Finland. To visit the website click here.

The service provider has three ways of communication. Chat, phone call, and email. On the website, there is a forum designed for help and support. To visit the website click here.

The website provides information about gambling addiction therapy groups that take place in Germany and help centers as well.  For more info click here.

Gamblers Anonymous in Hungary provides information about online meetings and meetings that take place in parts of Hungary. To check the website click here.

Problem-Gambling website provides a helpline. Individuals can call either text for a callback. The website displays information about gambling addiction meetings that take place and useful apps for recovering gamblers. To visit the website click here.

The website provides a toll-free helpline for residents of Italy to speak to a professional agent and receive emotional help. There is additional information about territorial services. Check the website here.

It’s completely free, confidential, and anonymous. It offers an application for iOS and Android users. The problem gambler can chat with social workers, psychologists, educators, and more and receive help. In case of an urgent problem, the website offers a helpline. Check the website here. 

The Responsible Gaming Foundation is next to problem gamblers in Malta. Offering a helpline for guidance and emotional support. The caller can also make an appointment to receive help. For more info click here.

It provides immediate help for problem gamblers in the Netherlands. One way is to call the free of charge helpline and another way is to receive information about group meetings that take place near the problem gambler’s area. For more info click here.

Users can find detailed information about meetings that take place near their area in Poland. To check the website click here.

IAJ contains a helpline for problem gamblers in Portugal but also detailed information about other organizations and institutes. Check the website here.

Problem gamblers in Slovakia can benefit by finding the necessary information displayed on the website, in order to talk and receive professional support. For more info click here.

Users in Slovenia have the privilege to take an online test, chat online, talk via phone, and contact via email about their gambling addiction. The website provides professional help for those in need. To check the relevant website click here.

Residents in Spain that suffer from gambling addiction can visit the Fejar for online help. It also helps in the self-exclusion process.

Stodlinjen is an easy navigation website, providing a helpline, online chat, and online tests for residents of Sweden that are facing gambling addiction.

Problem gamblers are not alone

We stand together with problem gamblers and we are doing anything as, possible to inform players and relatives that gambling can be addictive and must not be taken lightly. For people that feel that gambling has become a problem in their everyday life we recommend visiting one of the websites for consultation. Additionally, talking to close friends, relatives, family, the partner is important for emotional support and trust us. Being honest in a difficult time can be refreshing. Accept the helping hand and move to the safe side.


Self-Assessment Test! By GamCare

Problem Gamblers and solutions

As you can imagine problem gamblers who are self-excluded by online gambling services may sign up at other online casinos making the situation a vicious circle. To put an end to this circle, there are a few websites that offer a self-exclusion from any online casino that exists on the website. Yeah, you heard it right. One of the most known is GAMSTOP. Players that reside in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland have the privilege to self exclude from all the gambling websites that operate in the countries for 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years and it’s completely free. Another website is called GAMBLOCK which is available to every player around the world but it requires a fee. Another alternative website is GAMBAN. It offers a 7-day free trial, it’s available to everyone, and has a really small fee if you decide to purchase it. BetBlocker is an absolutely free tool that allows players to self-exclude from over 15 thousand gambling websites. It’s available for everyone and we recommend it.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have gathered the most important questions and tried to give the best answers.

What is gambling addiction?

Gambling addiction and problem gambling are different when it comes to the definition, so let’s see the difference.

• Problem gamblers usually control their gambling habit. They tempt to chase losses and make room in their everyday life for gambling. There are periods where they lose control and they stay on a thin line of becoming compulsive gamblers.

• Compulsive gamblers have gambling disorder (gambling addiction). They can’t control their desire to gamble in any way. They keep gambling even if they win or are on the verge of losing everything. They keep on playing even if the consequences are devastating.

In many cases problem gamblers and compulsive gamblers are associated with underlying issues such as stress, anxiety disorder, depression, ADHD, OCD, personality disorders.

What causes gambling addiction

From relevant research, it was concluded that while gambling your brain’s reward system gets stimulated just like alcohol. Dopamine is released which gives the gambler a sense of ”reward when you achieve something”. It’s not happiness but a feeling associated more with pleasure. Gamblers seek this feeling through gambling.

• Latest studies stated that some individuals are more likely to have a predisposition to compulsive or problem gambling due to reward-seeking behaviors.

• Gambling addiction is more common in men than women. The reason is that men usually gamble at younger ages while women start gambling later.

• Compulsive gamblers are usually young or middle-aged people. Some individuals start gambling in adulthood which increases the chances of gambling addiction.

• Psychological reasons such as stress, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, personality disorders, alcohol problem, are the main causes of gambling addiction.

People who feel lonely, have stress related to their job, have lost their close person, are likely to become problem gamblers or compulsive gamblers.

Individual characteristics such as competitiveness,   restlessness may increase the risk of gambling addiction.

How to see if I’m a problem gambler?

Well, it’s pretty easy to know if you’re a problem gambler and there are a lot of ways to control it. Since we are NO doctors we can’t just create a professional quiz. But we are good at searching. Therefore, here is a link to take a quiz made by professionals. Just click here.

Effects of gambling addiction

One of the most common effects is emotional distress. This includes anger issues, feelings of shame or regret. People that have gambling addiction have anxiety, headaches, depression. Please note that these effects may worsen if gambling addiction is not treated.