Guides

28 reference pages on gambling addiction, grouped by what you need. Every page is dated, sourced and checked against primary sources.

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• Signs of gambling addiction and a self-test you can take nowEarly and established signs across behavior, money, and mood, the nine DSM-5 criteria in plain language, and two validated self-tests with a next step for every score.
• How to stop gambling: a plan for today, this week, and the first 90 daysA staged plan for stopping gambling: six barriers to put up in the next 30 minutes, the money and trigger work for week one, online and sports-betting specifics, what the first 90 days feel like, and what to do after a lapse.
• How to stop gambling urges at nightA practical night plan for gambling urges: a 20-minute sequence you can run right now, urge surfing step by step, stimulus control that outlasts the urge, and how to recover after a slip.
• How to help someone with a gambling addictionA practical guide for partners, family, and friends: how to spot the problem from outside, what to say (and what backfires), how to protect the household money, and where to find support for yourself.

Understanding gambling

• Gambling addiction: definition, DSM-5 criteria and how it is diagnosedWhat gambling addiction means clinically: the nine DSM-5 criteria and the four-of-nine threshold, how the terms problem gambling, gambling disorder and compulsive gambling differ, how common it is, and how it is screened.
• What causes gambling addiction: product design, biology and personal riskWhy gambling is addictive and what causes gambling addiction: the six product features studied directly, what dopamine actually does, the risk factors with honest effect sizes, what the evidence says about ADHD and teenagers, and what reduces risk.
• Gambling withdrawal symptoms: what to expect and how long they lastWhat withdrawal from gambling actually involves: the symptoms with evidence behind them, the ones without, an honest timeline, what helps with sleep, urges, money anxiety and empty evenings, and when to see a doctor.
• Sports betting addiction: what makes betting apps high-risk, and how to stopWhy in-play betting, cash-out, micro-bets and parlays make sports betting apps high-risk, the signs specific to sports bettors, the US, British and Australian self-exclusion routes, and a step-by-step way to stop.
• Gambling addiction statistics: prevalence by country and what each number measuresProblem gambling prevalence worldwide and in ten countries, each figure labelled with the screen it came from (PGSI, DSM-5 or a bespoke indicator set), the year, and the source — plus demographics, harms, the treatment gap, and why the national rates cannot be ranked against each other.
• What is RTP and volatility in gambling? The honest mathA plain-number look at what 96% RTP really costs over a session, why volatility hides the house edge, and why winning losses back fails on average.
• Responsible gambling tools that actually work (2026)Why one tool never holds on its own, and how to stack the five that do: self-exclusion, blocking software, bank blocks, deposit limits, and human support, updated for what changed in 2026.

Treatment & recovery

• Gambling addiction treatment: what works and where it is freeWhat the evidence supports for gambling addiction treatment: CBT first, peer support alongside, medication as a second step, and the free routes in the UK, US, Australia and Canada.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy for gambling addiction: what it does and what the evidence showsWhat CBT for gambling addiction works on in beliefs and in behaviour, the 6 to 10 session course the UK guideline sets out, what the trials show after treatment and at follow-up, and free workbooks that use the same techniques.
• Gamblers Anonymous: how it works and how to find a meeting todayGamblers Anonymous is free, member-run and open to anyone who wants to stop gambling. What happens at a meeting, the 12 steps and 20 questions in plain English, official finders and phone numbers by country, and what the research actually shows.
• Gambling addiction medication: what is prescribed and what the evidence showsNo drug is licensed for gambling disorder in the US, the EU or the UK, so every prescription is off-label. What naltrexone, nalmefene, antidepressants and mood stabilisers actually did in trials, who gets offered medication, and how the prescribing route works.
• Gambling recovery and relapse: what the first year actually involvesWhat recovery from gambling involves beyond stopping the bets, how common relapse actually is, the situations that come before it, what to do in the first hour after a slip, and a nine-line relapse-prevention plan.

Blocking & self-exclusion

• Gambling self-exclusion by country: official schemes and how to sign upDirectory of official gambling self-exclusion schemes in 15 countries — what each covers, how long exclusions last, and official sign-up links.
• Gambling self-exclusion in the USA, state by stateReference table of US state gambling self-exclusion programs - the regulator running each one, what it covers, the terms offered and where to enrol.
• What is GamStop? How the UK self-exclusion scheme worksGamStop blocks you from every online gambling company licensed in Great Britain for a minimum of six months. What it covers, how registration and ID matching work, why it cannot be cancelled early, and what happens in the seven years after your period ends.
• GamStop vs blocking software: what each one actually blocksGamStop closes your accounts at every GB-licensed operator, while Gamban-style blockers stop your device from reaching gambling sites at all, including offshore ones. How the two layers differ, what each misses, and how to stack them.
• Casinos not on GamStop: what they are and why they are riskySites marketed as casinos not on GamStop hold no Great Britain operating licence, which removes GamStop and every other GB consumer protection at the same time. What that means in practice, whether money is recoverable, and how to close the gap.
• Gamban: what it blocks, what it costs, and where it is freeGamban is device-level blocking software covering gambling, crypto, trading and skins sites. What it blocks and does not, the 2026 prices, where it is still free, how installation and the no-early-removal policy work, and where the gaps are.
• The best apps to block gambling sites in 2026 (free options first)BetBlocker, Gamban, GamBlock, Screen Time and DNS filtering compared: verified 2026 prices, uninstall protection, and how to layer them so removal takes real effort.
• How to block gambling sites and apps on iPhone and AndroidA device-by-device guide: Screen Time on iPhone, Play Store and Private DNS on Android, DNS filtering for the whole house, and who should hold each passcode so the block survives a bad night.
• Bank gambling blocks: which banks have one and how they workA gambling block is a free card setting that declines payments to gambling merchants, with a 48-hour to three-day delay before it can be lifted. Verified details for 25 banks in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, what the block misses, and what exists in the US and Canada.

Money & debt

• How to set gambling limits that actually holdWhere to set deposit, loss, and time limits, how to pick a number from discretionary income, and how to keep yourself from raising it later.
• Gambling debt: what to do first, and in what orderThe order matters: block gambling in the first 48 hours, triage priority debts before paying anyone, and use free debt advice instead of loans or bailouts.
• Gambling budget tracker: how to startAccount-data research shows the people who lose the most are the most likely to underestimate it. How to build a three-column tracker from real statements, run a 15-minute monthly review, and read the signals that say it's time for limits or blocking.