According to Gambling Help Online, for every person experiencing gambling harm, an average of six people close to them are also affected. If a partner, parent, child, friend or colleague is that person, you may be one of the six.

If you are searching for how to help someone with a gambling problem, there are three things you can do first. You cannot make the decision for someone else, but you can get free and confidential advice for yourself from the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 or Gambling Help Online, both of which are open to family and friends. You can start a calm conversation about what you have noticed. And you can protect your own money while the person works out what to do.

This guide starts with who to call, then covers the signs of harm, the conversation, money, the main tools and safety. Each tool is described by who can set it up, because some can be started only by the person who gambles.

Get help now

How gambling harm reaches family and friends

Gambling Help Online sorts the harm to family members and friends into several areas. It describes three as the most common: financial harm; damaged relationships, with lost trust and conflict; and emotional harm such as shame, anxiety and helplessness. The others are effects on health, including stress and disrupted sleep; harm to work and study; cultural harm; and other harms.

The same page says around 6% of Australian adults report at least one harm from another person’s gambling in the previous year. The page attributes that figure to a 2019–20 national gambling study. It describes how common the experience is, not how serious it is for any one household.

For the wider picture, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) found that 15% of Australian adults were at some risk of gambling harm in its 2024 pilot study. The full figures are in gambling losses and risk in Australia in numbers.

Signs that gambling may be causing harm

GambleAware NSW says it is hard to know whether someone is affected, because the person may have done everything possible to hide it. Its list of signs is longer than this selection:

  • reluctance to talk about money or about where the person spends their time
  • money going missing from shared accounts or elsewhere
  • borrowing money without a clear explanation
  • selling belongings
  • swings between having cash and being short of it
  • becoming more irritable, anxious or guilty
  • neglecting work or family
  • more arguments about money

These are clues, not proof. Each one can have other causes, and a list cannot tell you what is happening in someone else’s life. The purpose is to decide whether to raise the subject, not to reach a verdict.

How to start the conversation

Gambling Help Online’s tips for talking to a loved one can be turned into six steps. The aim of the first talk is to be heard, not to settle everything.

  1. Choose a calm moment and say why you are raising it: because you care about the person.
  2. Explain what you have noticed, why it worries you and how it makes you feel. Sentences about your own feelings, such as ‘I feel worried about our financial future’, land more gently than accusations.
  3. Separate the person from the behaviour. The behaviour is causing harm, not the person.
  4. Listen carefully to the reply, and use the words the person uses so that they feel heard and understood.
  5. Offer one concrete next step. That could be calling the National Gambling Helpline together, starting a chat on Gambling Help Online, or taking the self-assessment on the same site.
  6. Be ready to stop. If the conversation becomes unproductive or aggressive, Gambling Help Online says it is best to end it.

The person may be angry, defensive or deny that anything is wrong. They may not realise they are experiencing harm, or may not be ready to change. In that case, let them know you are willing to talk when they are ready, and keep your own support in place in the meantime. You can call 1800 858 858 for yourself whether or not they join in.

Protecting your own money

What you can do depends on what is yours and what is shared. The options below are attributed to the services that publish them. They are possibilities to weigh, not financial advice from this site.

  • GambleAware NSW suggests organising shared access to bank accounts, so that you can both see where income and spending go. That works as an agreement between you and the person, not as something done without their knowledge.
  • The same page says you might consider temporarily separating finances if you think the person is secretly gambling with shared funds.
  • Taking over the household money or paying a living allowance may be only a short-term solution, and GambleAware NSW notes that experts do not normally recommend a gambling allowance.
  • For partners, Gambler’s Help in Victoria lists separate accounts or accounts that need two signatures, removing your name from shared credit cards, cancelling overdrafts, speaking with the bank so that your home cannot be remortgaged, and getting legal advice about your rights.
  • For family and friends, the same service lists not sharing your PINs and paying bills yourself rather than lending money for them.

A financial counsellor can help build a realistic long-term plan, and the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 is free. What a particular bank will do with a joint account or loan is not set out in these sources, so ask your bank what it needs from each account holder. Where you and the person do not agree, legal advice is the safer next step. A card block is another tool, and how a gambling block from a bank works explains its limits.

Lending money and paying debts

GambleAware NSW advises thinking twice before bailing someone out, because the person will not feel the consequences of the loss if the money is replaced. It makes one exception: if a bailout is needed to avoid a crisis, such as the repossession of a home, pay the money directly to the financial institution or creditor, not to the person.

Gambler’s Help makes a related point. Think carefully about your own finances before offering to help financially. That includes debts that may already be yours.

The National Debt Helpline is a not-for-profit service run by Financial Counselling Australia, and the call is free and confidential. Its counsellors do not lend money or sell anything. Who is responsible for a particular debt, such as a joint loan or a guarantee, is a legal question, and a financial counsellor or a legal adviser can answer it for your situation.

Tools that can help and who can set them up

The tools below differ in who can start them. Most can be started only by the person who gambles or by the holder of the account, and the table shows who does what.

ToolWho sets it upWhat you can do
BetStopThe person, with their own detailsSupport the decision; the registration is theirs
Bank gambling blockThe card holderAsk your bank about blocks on your own cards
Venue self-exclusionThe person, with the venue or a state scheme; in NSW a family member can also apply for a ban from casinos and local clubsShare the information; ask the venue about third-party exclusion
CounsellingAnyone affectedCall the Helpline for yourself or together
Your accounts and PINsYouDecide what is shared and what is not

The ACMA’s page on BetStop describes registration as something a person does with a mobile phone number, an email address and either an Australian driver’s licence or a Medicare card. The page indicates that support people can be attached to a registration and are notified if the person applies to cancel it. How a support person is chosen is not set out there. Nothing on the page suggests that one person can register another.

BetStop covers licensed Australian online and phone gambling providers. It does not cover pubs, clubs and casinos, which have their own exclusion processes, and a registration or a bank block may not reach websites outside the licensing system. GambleAware NSW says a family member can apply to have someone banned from casinos and local clubs in NSW, but that this is not yet possible in every venue and that in pubs the person must decide for themselves. What is licensed in Australia and how to check explains the difference, and the main tools for limiting gambling harm and what each one covers compares them side by side.

If you are worried about safety

Money pressure can sit alongside abuse, and the two are not always easy to separate. The National Debt Helpline treats financial abuse as a form of domestic and family violence. Its warning signs include running up debts in your name, pressuring you to sign a loan contract and making you a guarantor on a loan.

If any of that sounds familiar, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 supports people affected by domestic, family or sexual violence. If someone is in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000). If you are worried about their safety or your own in any other way, Lifeline on 13 11 14 provides crisis support.

Support for you

GambleAware NSW says its free and confidential counsellors are there for family and friends too, and the National Gambling Helpline offers the same. Partners and other family members can start with the same number.

Keeping up your own routines and contacts matters during a long stretch of worry. Gam-Anon, listed by Gamblers Anonymous Australia, is a group for partners, family members and friends of someone experiencing gambling harm. Face-to-face counselling is organised by state and territory. Victoria lists services in over 100 locations, and NSW offers counselling through GambleAware.

Gambling Help Online also has separate guidance for supporting young people in gambling families.

Frequently asked questions

Can I call the National Gambling Helpline about someone else’s gambling?

Yes. Gambling Help Online describes its support as free and for anyone affected by gambling, and GambleAware NSW says its counsellors are there for family and friends too. You can call 1800 858 858 for yourself, whether or not the other person agrees to talk.

What can I do if they say there is nothing wrong?

Gambling Help Online says people may be angry, defensive or deny a problem, or may not be ready to change. Let them know you will talk when they are ready, end any talk that turns aggressive, and get support for yourself in the meantime.

Should I pay off their gambling debts?

GambleAware NSW says to think twice, because the person will not feel the consequences if they are bailed out. If a bailout is needed to avoid a crisis, it suggests paying the creditor directly. The National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 can talk through debts.

Can I register someone else with BetStop?

The ACMA describes registration as something a person does for themselves, using their own mobile phone number, email address and an Australian driver’s licence or Medicare card. Its page does not describe registering another person. You can support the decision, and the person can apply for themselves.

Is there a support group for families?

Yes. Gam-Anon is a group for partners, family members and friends of someone experiencing gambling harm, and Gamblers Anonymous Australia lists it on its website. Counselling for family members is also available through the Helpline and through state services such as GambleAware in NSW.

Where to get help, for you and for them

If you remember one number from this guide, make it the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858. It is free and confidential, and it is there for you as well as for the person you are worried about. Gambling Help Online offers chat and email for anyone who would rather not phone. The National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 covers money worries, and Lifeline on 13 11 14 covers crisis support.

This guide gives general information and is not medical, financial or legal advice.

Sources