Recognising Signs of Gambling Harm

You do not need to decide whether you or someone else has a gambling problem before taking a concern seriously. Look at what gambling is doing to money, stress, relationships and everyday life.

The signs below are not a diagnosis. Some can have other explanations. Look at the pattern, what has changed and whether gambling is making life harder.

Start with the impact

Gambling-related harm can show up in finances, physical or mental health, relationships, work, education and housing. It can affect the person gambling and the people around them.

There is no minimum amount of money that has to be lost before the impact matters. A short period of intense gambling can also cause serious harm.

Changes in the gambling itself

Things worth noticing include:

• Spending more than you can comfortably afford to lose
• Gambling for longer or more often than you intended
• Needing to stake more money to get the same feeling from gambling
• Going back to gamble because you want to win back money already lost
• Trying to cut down or stop and finding that difficult
• Hiding how much time or money is being spent on gambling

One of these on its own does not tell the whole story. Several appearing together, or becoming more frequent, is a stronger reason to act.

Money and debt

Gambling may be affecting finances if you are:

• Using money needed for rent, mortgage payments, food, bills or other essentials
• Borrowing money or selling possessions so you can gamble
• Using savings or credit to keep gambling
• Moving money between accounts to cover gambling losses
• Hiding transactions, debts or the amount spent
• Feeling increasingly anxious about checking your bank balance or bills

If gambling losses are creating debt, trying to solve the problem with another bet can make the financial position worse.

Stress, health and everyday life

Gambling may also be causing harm if it is linked with:

• Stress or anxiety about gambling or money
• Guilt or regret about what happens when you gamble
• Problems sleeping or concentrating
• Arguments or loss of trust in relationships
• Missing work, education or other responsibilities
• Pulling away from people or activities that used to matter to you

These problems can have many causes, so look at whether they are appearing alongside gambling or becoming worse because of it.

Questions worth asking yourself

If you are unsure whether gambling is causing problems, ask yourself:

• Am I spending more than I am comfortable losing?
• Have I gone back to gamble because I wanted to recover a loss?
• Have I borrowed money or sold something so I could gamble?
• Has gambling caused financial problems for me or my household?
• Has gambling caused stress, anxiety, guilt or problems with my health?
• Have I tried to cut back and then found myself gambling again?

The NHS has a short gambling-harm questionnaire if you want a more structured check. It also makes clear that even a lower score can still mean gambling is having a negative effect on your life.

If you recognise some of these signs

You do not have to wait for the situation to become severe. You can speak to a gambling support service now, even if you are unsure what kind of help you need.

Depending on what is happening, practical options can include:

• Talking to someone you trust about what has been happening
• Using a bank gambling block or gambling-blocking software
• Using self-exclusion if you want to stop access to gambling
• Getting debt advice if bills, borrowing or repayments are becoming difficult
• Contacting a specialist gambling support or treatment service

Authoritative sources

• NHS: help for problems with gambling
• NICE NG248: gambling-related harms, identification, assessment and management