Gambling helplines by country: free and confidential support

Which gambling helpline can you contact from where you live? There is no single international telephone gambling helpline. Anyone, in any country, can use Gambling Therapy, an online service that describes itself as free and offers text-based live support. Several countries with regulated gambling also run a national helpline, and the table below lists the ones checked for this guide, country by country.

Each number in the table was checked against the service's own website, with two exceptions noted below the table. A number copied from a casino's footer may be out of date or belong to another country. Use the number for your country. No phone line? Use the online service.

Online support wherever you live

Gambling Therapy is a global service offered by Gordon Moody. The service describes itself as providing free practical advice and emotional support to anyone affected by gambling. That includes people who gamble and people close to someone who does.

Support runs through a text-based, multilingual live support service with a trained adviser, multilingual forums, online groups that need registration, and email. Gambling Therapy has no telephone line. Phone numbers for individual countries are in the next section.

Gambling helplines by country

Each number was checked on the service's own website on 5 October 2026, except the number for the Netherlands, which was last confirmed on 29 September 2026. Numbers are shown as each service writes them, for callers inside that country. The number for Wales is shown according to Great Britain's Gambling Commission.

Why is there no single international helpline?

Gambling helplines are national in the same way as licences and self-exclusion registers. A government, a regulator or a charity in one country funds and runs the service, and the adviser who answers can connect the caller with local advice and treatment. The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) in the United States describes its helpline as a link between callers and help in their own state. ConnexOntario works from a database of services in Ontario.

This has a practical result. A number that works in one country may not connect in another, or may not exist there at all. A site footer may list only a British number, which is of little use to a reader elsewhere. No source checked for this guide lists a telephone number that works for callers everywhere.

The service pages checked for this guide do not promise that these numbers connect from abroad. The numbers are therefore shown in national form and are meant for callers inside the country. From elsewhere, Gambling Therapy is the better starting point.

Notes on individual countries

United States: the National Problem Gambling Helpline

The NCPG announced on 29 January 2026 that its helpline is reached on 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), by call or text, with online chat as well. The NCPG says the earlier number, 1-800-522-4700, remains active. It also says availability of the new number varies by jurisdiction while it expands during 2026 and 2027. Older websites may show other numbers, so check the NCPG announcement for the current number.

Canada: provincial services

This guide found no single national gambling helpline for Canada. The services checked are provincial. ConnexOntario covers Ontario, says it offers support in over 130 languages, and also takes text messages on 247247 (start the message with CONNEX). Gambling Support BC covers British Columbia. In Québec, the service Jeu : aide et référence also has a Montréal number, 514 527-0140. Other provinces and territories are not listed because their numbers were not checked for this guide.

Great Britain and Wales

GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline for Great Britain. Great Britain's Gambling Commission lists 0808 8020 133 for England and Scotland and 0808 2819 265 for Wales. The GamCare number is for callers in Great Britain. It is not the helpline for Gibraltar, Ireland, the Isle of Man or any other country. Northern Ireland is part of the UK but not of Great Britain, and this guide did not check a helpline for it, so start with Gambling Therapy.

Malta: two numbers

The Responsible Gaming Foundation runs Supportline on 1777 and says callers can remain anonymous. The foundation also lists Appoġġ on 179 as another option for support.

Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands

Germany's Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG), the Federal Institute for Public Health, runs the Telefonberatung zur Glücksspielsucht on 0800 1 37 27 00 and describes it as free of charge and anonymous. The same site offers advice by email and chat. Stödlinjen in Sweden says a call costs nothing and the caller does not have to give a name. Spillemyndigheden, the Danish gambling regulator, runs StopSpillet for players and for people close to them, with a chat option. Italy's Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), the national health institute, runs a toll-free number that it describes as national, anonymous and free. The Dutch government confirms that OpenOverGokken offers telephone and digital help, also for relatives. The Italian line is open Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 16:00, and StopSpillet Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 21:00, and Friday, 9:00 to 17:00. Outside these hours, use Gambling Therapy.

If your country is not in the table

Start with Gambling Therapy. Regulators in several jurisdictions that license online operators do not list a helpline of their own. This applies to Gibraltar's Gambling Commissioner (the Gambling Division of HM Government of Gibraltar), the Alderney Gambling Control Commission and the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission. The Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) points people outside Curaçao to help in their country of residence.

Language can be a barrier, because most national services work mainly in the national language. Some services state otherwise. Stödlinjen in Sweden gives advice in English, the German service offers telephone advice in foreign languages, and ConnexOntario supports over 130 languages. For other services, the language of the adviser is not stated. Gambling Therapy offers support in many languages.

To find the right number:

1. Pick the country where you live, not the country of the operator.
2. Use the number from the table and open the service's website to confirm it.
3. If there is no phone line or the language is a barrier, use Gambling Therapy.
4. If your country is missing, look for a helpline on the official website of its health ministry or gambling regulator.

What does a helpline do, and what does it not do?

A helpline offers a conversation and a way to local help. It is not only for people whose own gambling causes harm. Gambling Therapy describes its service as open to anyone affected by gambling, and GamCare uses the same wording for gambling harms. Denmark's StopSpillet says it advises people whether they gamble themselves or are close to someone who does. For more on gambling harm, see what WHO and national surveys show about gambling harm.

Calling a helpline does not block gambling. A block comes from a national scheme or from self-exclusion at the operator, which is a separate step. The guide to national self-exclusion schemes by country explains how these work. In Malta, the Responsible Gaming Foundation says Supportline can also help with self-exclusion and referral to services.

A gambling helpline is also not an emergency service, and it does not settle disputes with an operator. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call the emergency number for the country you are in.

After the call: local help, limits and blocks

After the call, the next step is usually a local service, a limit or a block. SlothBet's responsible gambling page describes the tools and principles behind this site. Gambling is for adults only: 18 or over, or older where local law sets a higher minimum age. That limit applies to gambling, not to asking for help. This guide gives general information and is not medical or legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All pages were accessed on 5 October 2026, except where noted.

• Gambling Therapy: online service, support channels
• GamCare: Great Britain, 0808 8020 133
• Gambling Commission (Great Britain): number for Wales
• GamblingCare.ie: Ireland
• Responsible Gaming Foundation: Malta
• Motiv8: Isle of Man
• ConnexOntario: Ontario
• Gambling Support BC: British Columbia
• Jeu : aide et référence: Québec
• Gambling Help Online: Australia
• Gambling Helpline: New Zealand
• NCPG, help and treatment and NCPG announcement of 29 January 2026: United States
• Check dein Spiel (BIÖG): Germany
• FEJAR: Spain
• Stödlinjen: Sweden
• Spillemyndigheden, StopSpillet: Denmark
• OpenOverGokken: Netherlands; number last confirmed 29 September 2026
• Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Telefono Verde: Italy