Understand the risk. Check where you stand. Get help.
Every game here carries a house edge, so over enough play it takes more than it returns — gambling is entertainment, never income. This page is for understanding that risk to yourself: a private self-check, the tools that let you set limits, and where to get real help. It is education, not treatment or advice.
The National Gambling Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7 — call 0808 8020 133 or chat at gamcare.org.uk. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services. Not in the UK? Find help by country ↓
How harm builds
Gambling harm rarely announces itself. It grows quietly — betting more than you can afford, needing bigger stakes for the same buzz, going back to win losses, borrowing, and hiding it. The maths underneath keeps it going: a negative-sum game feels winnable because of near-misses and the belief a result is “due”, which is why understanding the odds is itself a protection. Learn the mechanism in Responsible gambling and see the “due” illusion for yourself in the Lab. For the scale of it, see the cited harm & prevalence figures.
A private self-check
The Problem Gambling Severity Index is a nine-question self-assessment used in research and clinical practice. It is a way to reflect on your own play — not a diagnosis. Answer honestly; nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Thinking about the last 12 months…
- Have you bet more than you could really afford to lose?
- Have you needed to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling of excitement?
- When you gambled, did you go back another day to try to win back the money you lost?
- Have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?
- Have you felt that you might have a problem with gambling?
- Has gambling caused you any health problems, including stress or anxiety?
- Have people criticised your betting or told you that you had a gambling problem, regardless of whether or not you thought it was true?
- Has your gambling caused any financial problems for you or your household?
- Have you felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble?
Tools that put limits in your hands
Licensed operators must offer these. They reduce how much you can be exposed to — they do not remove the house edge or make gambling safe.
Cap what you can put in, lose, or spend before you start. Set while you are thinking clearly, they hold when you are not — the single most effective everyday guard.
A periodic on-screen reminder of how long you have played and what you have staked, to break the trance of continuous play.
A short account lock — 24 hours up to a few weeks — for when you just need to step away without a permanent decision.
Block yourself from operators for a fixed period — the strongest built-in tool. Many countries run a single national scheme (below).
Self-exclusion where you play
Self-exclusion blocks you from the operators a scheme covers, for a period you choose. Many countries run a single national register.
Self-exclusion blocks you from the operators it covers, for a period you choose. Not listed here? Search for your national scheme, or ask any licensed operator to close and block your account.
Where to get help
Free, confidential, and independent of any operator — by country. Every link goes to the service’s own site.
Free, confidential support 24/7 by phone, live chat and WhatsApp, with a route into the National Gambling Treatment Service.
Free advice, self-assessment tools and signposting to support across Great Britain.
Free residential treatment, retreats and counselling for people severely affected by gambling.
Funds free counselling and support, and runs a free 24/7 national gambling helpline.
Free, confidential online counselling and support across the island of Ireland.
Free, confidential support 24/7 by call, text and chat, connecting you to local treatment.
Free, confidential 24/7 phone, chat and text information and referral for addiction and problem gambling (Ontario).
Independent non-profit focused on gambling-harm prevention and public information across Canada.
Free, confidential 24/7 counselling by phone, chat and email, plus self-help tools.
Free, confidential 24/7 phone and text counselling, support and referral.
Free, anonymous federal information, self-tests and telephone / online counselling on gambling addiction.
Free, confidential national phone and chat support for anyone affected by their own or another’s gambling.
The Danish Gambling Authority’s free, confidential helpline and route into treatment.
Free, anonymous national help point for information, advice and referral to treatment.
Free, anonymous helpline for confidential advice on gambling, alcohol, drugs and gaming.
Not listed here? Search your national gambling-help service, or ask any licensed operator to close and block your account. In an emergency, contact your local emergency services.
Sources
- Problem Gambling Severity Index — Ferris & Wynne (2001); interpretive categories validated by Currie et al. (2013), Journal of Gambling Studies
- National Gambling Helpline (GamCare)
- GambleAware
- GAMSTOP — national online self-exclusion
Education, not advice. This page explains gambling harm and where to find help. The PGSI is a self-assessment, not a diagnosis; only a professional can assess gambling harm. For adults 18+ only.