Help and support
Free help with gambling in the UK: helpline, blocking tools, treatment and debt advice.
Everything on this page is free, run by other people, and none of it is us. We are a publication; we do not treat anyone. This is the list we would give a friend.
Right now
- National Gambling Helpline — 0808 8020 133. Free, 24 hours, every day, from any phone. Live chat runs through GamCare.
- If you are in danger of harming yourself, call 999, or Samaritans on 116 123 — free, 24 hours.
Stopping access
- GAMSTOP blocks every online operator licensed in Great Britain for six months, one year or five years. It does not cover betting shops or sites licensed elsewhere — what it does and does not stop.
- Your bank can block gambling payments from the card. Most UK banks now offer it in the app, and many hold the block for 48 hours after you switch it off.
- Blocking software: Gamban (free through the national support network) and BetBlocker (free) — compared here.
- Betting shops run a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme; how to use it.
Treatment and support
- The NHS runs specialist gambling clinics across Britain; referral routes are set out here.
- GambleAware lists free treatment and self-help across the country.
- Gamblers Anonymous and GamAnon (for families) run free meetings.
Money
- Free debt advice: StepChange, National Debtline, Citizens Advice. Never pay for debt advice.
- Breathing Space gives a pause on interest and enforcement while you get advice; the debt charities above apply for it with you.