Supporting Someone Affected by Gambling Harm

Gambling harm affects people beyond the person gambling, and support services exist specifically for affected others.

Practical measures that tend to help: talking without ultimatums at a calm moment, separating finances where appropriate, encouraging a bank gambling block and national self-exclusion rather than promises, and avoiding paying off debts repeatedly, which can remove the consequences without changing the behaviour.

Measures that tend not to help: monitoring and policing, which usually shifts the behaviour rather than stopping it, and treating relapse as a betrayal rather than a common part of recovery.

Support for affected others is available from GamCare, Gam-Anon and the National Gambling Helpline in Great Britain, with equivalents elsewhere. Getting support for yourself is not a secondary concern.