Help
If gambling is hurting you
It is not a matter of willpower, and you do not have to deal with it alone. Here is who to call and what you can do today.
In Spain
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FEJAR
Spanish federation of recovering gamblers. Free guidance and local groups across Spain.
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024 line
Suicide-prevention line. Free, 24 hours.
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Self-exclusion (RGIAJ)
Official register that blocks you from every licensed gambling website in Spain.
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Jugar Bien
The regulator’s website on safer gambling and support.
Elsewhere
| United Kingdom | National Gambling Helpline (GamCare) | 0808 8020 133 |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Samaritans | 116 123 |
| United States | National Problem Gambling Helpline | 1-800-GAMBLER |
| United States | 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline | 988 |
| México | Línea de la Vida | 800 911 2000 |
| Argentina | 141 line (SEDRONAR) | 141 |
| Chile | Suicide-prevention line | *4141 |
Warning signs
This is not a test or a diagnosis. If several of these sound familiar, it is worth talking to someone.
- You play for longer, or with more money, than you intended.
- You go back to win back what you lost.
- You hide or play down how much you gamble or have lost.
- You gamble to escape problems or how you feel.
- You have tried to stop or cut down and could not.
- You have borrowed money, sold things or skipped bills to gamble.
- Gambling is costing you arguments, work, studies or relationships.
- You feel restless or irritable when you cannot gamble.
Five things you can do today
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Tell someone
Talking to someone you trust, or calling a helpline, is the hardest step and the one that helps most. You do not need to have it all figured out before calling.
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Put up a barrier
Use your country’s self-exclusion scheme (RGIAJ in Spain, GAMSTOP in the UK) and install a free blocker such as BetBlocker on your phone and computer.
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Put distance between you and the money
Many banks let you block gambling payments in their app. Lower your card limits and stop saving card details in your browser.
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Write down what happens
Note when the urge to gamble shows up, what you were doing and how you felt. Recognising those moments lets you prepare for the next one.
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Get professional support
Gambling disorder is treatable, and cognitive-behavioural therapy has good evidence behind it. Your GP can refer you, and helplines can point you to local services.
If it is happening to someone close to you
- Speak from concern rather than blame: describe what you see, without labels.
- Do not pay their debts or lend them money; it usually prolongs the problem.
- Protect the household finances: separate accounts and check who can use the cards.
- Get support for yourself too. Many helplines and groups also help families.
This page is for information and does not replace care from a health professional.
Step-by-step guides
- Gambling addiction test: do I have a problem with gambling? This test uses the PGSI, nine questions about the last 12 months used in research worldwide.
- What is gambling addiction? Symptoms, causes and treatment Gambling addiction, or gambling disorder, is an addiction recognised by medicine: gambling persistently even though it is harming you.
- How to stop gambling: what to do if you think you are addicted Start today with three things: put up barriers that do not depend on you (self-exclusion, a blocker, a bank block), put distance between you and the money, and tell one person.
- I have gambling debts. What should I do? First, do not try to win it back by gambling or take new loans to cover old ones: that is what makes debt grow.
- How can I tell if my child is gambling? Watch for money that goes missing or appears, a phone hidden during matches and talk of odds and accumulators.
- How do you self-exclude from gambling in Spain? By registering in the RGIAJ, Spain’s national self-exclusion register.
- Gambling self-exclusion in each Spanish region: how to apply Arcades, bingo halls, casinos and betting shops in Spain are regulated by each region, which keeps its own register.
- How do you block betting and online gambling? With several barriers at once: self-exclusion for licensed sites, a blocker such as BetBlocker on your phone and computer, a gambling block at your bank and fewer gambling ads.
- How can you help a partner or relative with a gambling problem? Talk calmly, at a quiet moment and without blame: describe what you see and how it affects you.