Gambling concerns & finding support
If gambling is affecting your life, money or relationships, you can ask for help now. Explore what support can involve and choose a next step without needing to prove that the harm is serious enough.
The impact matters more than a single amount.
Gambling-related harm can affect health, relationships, responsibilities and finances. It deserves support whether or not you have a gambling disorder diagnosis. A clinician can assess the pattern and its effects over time.
Products, advertising and the environment can also contribute to harm. You do not have to explain it as a failure of character. What matters for your first conversation is what is happening and what help you need.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
There is more to the impact than money lost.
- Control
Your intentions and what happens in practice
- Daily life
Responsibilities, relationships and health
- Practical effects
Bills, debt and other consequences
- Your support
Professional care and practical options
The effect on your life matters before any label.
Gambling-related harm can involve emotional health, relationships and finances. You can seek support because something is affecting you, even if you are unsure whether a diagnosis applies.
If gambling is seriously affecting your mental health or safety, use urgent support. A routine screening tool or financial plan is not a substitute for that help.
Based on NHS
You can seek help when someone else's gambling affects you.
Services may offer support to family and friends as well as the person who gambles. You can ask for help with your own wellbeing and practical concerns without diagnosing the other person or completing a screen on their behalf.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
Start with what gambling is making harder.
These are examples to discuss, not questions you need to answer on this page or a diagnosis of another person.
Control & intentions
Finding it difficult to control gambling or keep to your intentions.
Financial effects
Trying to recover losses through more gambling.
Health & relationships
Gambling affecting bills, relationships, health or daily responsibilities.
Distress & secrecy
Hiding the extent of gambling or feeling distressed about its effects.
Based on NHS · Ferris and Wynne · Canadian Consortium for Gambling Research
There may be several connected concerns.
You might find one area easier to explain than another. This map helps you choose where to start; it does not rank how serious your situation is.
Wellbeing
Distress, sleep and the emotional effect of the pattern.
Money
Pressure on everyday needs, bills or debt.
Relationships
Effects on trust, time together and people close to you.
Daily life
Responsibilities and activities displaced by gambling.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
A screen can prompt a conversation; it cannot replace one.
An assessment can consider the gambling pattern, impact, health, safety and practical needs. You can ask what information is recorded and how it is used. There is no need to enter losses, debt or bank information here.
BBGS is a short screen based on an earlier diagnostic framework. PGSI measures a broader set of gambling-related problems. They are different purposes, rather than a pair of tests that confirms a diagnosis.
Based on NHS · Cambridge Health Alliance · Division on Addiction · Ferris and Wynne · Canadian Consortium for Gambling Research
- 1The impact
What is gambling affecting in your life?
- 2Your priority
Health, control, relationships or practical consequences?
- 3The service
What support is available and how is information handled?
A screen starts a conversation; it does not finish one.
A professional assessment considers the pattern, the harm and other health needs. The external BBGS resource below is a brief screen designed to prompt further evaluation. Its result cannot establish a diagnosis or predict an individual’s future.
If you follow an external resource, check its host and privacy information before answering. Selfmora does not receive its answers or result.
Based on NHS · Division on Addiction
Ask about specialist and practical support together.
You and your clinician can discuss what fits your needs, preferences and health.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
Clinical and practical support address different needs.
Gambling services may offer psychological treatment and support with related mental health concerns. Independent money advice can address debt and essential costs. Access arrangements depend on where you live.
Gambling-focused care
Discuss control, harms and treatment goals with a qualified service.
Mental health care
Bring distress and co-occurring concerns into the plan.
Practical protections
Ask about financial advice and available access restrictions.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
People affected by someone else’s gambling can get help too.
You can ask a service about support for family or friends. Your wellbeing and financial needs matter even if the person gambling is not seeking care.
Discuss consent, privacy and responsibilities before becoming involved in another person’s treatment or finances. You do not have to become their therapist or monitor.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
A little clarity. A place to start.
Explore a tool, prepare a conversation or find someone to talk to. Choose what feels useful to you.
Prepare for a conversation
A few prompts to help you explain what you have noticed and what you would like help with.
- A simple notes builder
- Copy your notes to keep
- No account needed
You decide how much to write and share.
Find your wordsFind your next kind of support
Explore where to begin with everyday support, professional help or an urgent conversation.
- Ways to ask for help
- Country-specific crisis contacts
- Support at your own pace
If you need urgent help, go straight to support.
Find supportYour first sentence does not need to be perfect.
You might ask for gambling-focused care, help dealing with financial consequences or an initial conversation. Support can begin before you decide every longer-term goal. A low questionnaire result does not cancel a harm you are experiencing.
Based on NHS
“Gambling is affecting my life and I would like support with both the pattern and its consequences.”Make it sound like you
Your questions, with room for nuance.
You can read just the answer you need.
Can I seek help before large financial losses occur?
Yes. Gambling-related concerns can involve health, relationships and time as well as money. You can ask for support when you are concerned.
Based on NHS
Will the BBGS diagnose me?
No. It is a brief screening resource. It can indicate a reason for further evaluation, with interpretation that depends on context.
Based on Division on Addiction
Are gambling services available everywhere in the same way?
No. NHS clinic routes described in the linked guidance apply to England. Check current local access and eligibility where you live.
Based on NHS
Can I get support if someone else is gambling?
Yes. Gambling services and support organizations may help affected family and friends. Ask what is available locally for your own needs.
Based on NHS · NHS Northern Gambling Service
Where this information comes from.
Use this hub to learn and prepare questions. It does not diagnose you or recommend a personal treatment plan. By Selfmora editorial; sources checked . Updated .
Additional explanations and examples: sources consulted . Examples illustrate ideas; they do not assess your personal health. Your questions
- Gambling-related harm and support
- BBGS: external owner-hosted screen
- BBGS: purpose and owner's response-handling statement
- Canadian Problem Gambling Index: original report and scored subscale
- Professional support and a public-health approach to gambling harm