Croatia's free national addictions line is 0800 2000 70 (weekdays 9:00–16:00), run by the Croatian Institute of Public Health. Since 1 August 2025 the country has a single national self-exclusion register, the Registar isključenih igrača: one request through the e-Građani portal blocks you from every operator licensed in Croatia, online and in venues, for a period between three months and permanently. Counselling at county public health institutes needs no GP referral. Gambling is supervised by the Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance; the minimum age is 18.
| Addictions helpline | 0800 2000 70 — HZJZ, weekdays 9:00–16:00, free |
|---|---|
| National self-exclusion | Registar isključenih igrača, free, all licensed operators, online and venues |
| Exclusion periods | 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years or permanent |
| How to register | Online through e-Građani, or via an operator or health/social institution |
| Free counselling | County public health institutes — no GP referral, appointment by phone or email |
| Regulator | Ministry of Finance — Tax Administration (Porezna uprava) |
| Legal gambling age | 18 |
| Online gambling | Legal only for companies holding a Croatian concession |
Verified helplines
| Service | Phone / chat | Hours | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| HZJZ — national addictions helpline (Croatian Institute of Public Health)General addictions helpline (covers gambling/kockanje), not gambling-specific. Specialised gambling treatment programs exist at psychiatric clinics (e.g. KOCKA program, Klinika Sveti Ivan, Zagreb). | 0800 2000 70Email: ovisnosti@hzjz.hr | Weekdays 9:00–16:00; freeCroatian | ovisnosti.hzjz.hr/korisni-kontakti |
Helplines and online chat
The national addictions line of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo, HZJZ) is 0800 2000 70, free of charge, weekdays 9:00–16:00. The same service also answers on 091 4683 070 and by email at ovisnosti@hzjz.hr. It is a general addictions line rather than a gambling-only one, so open the call by saying the problem is gambling (kockanje) — the staff will point you to the nearest counselling service.
Croatia has no 24-hour gambling line. Outside those hours, emergency medical help is 194 and the European emergency number is 112. Other countries' lines are collected in our directory of gambling helplines.
If gambling losses have you thinking about ending your life, call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department now. Debt can be restructured later; this cannot wait.
Self-exclusion
Croatia has had a national self-exclusion register, the Registar isključenih igrača (Register of Excluded Players), since 1 August 2025. It was created by the April 2025 amendments to the Games of Chance Act (Narodne novine 72/25), which took effect on 1 May 2025. The register is kept by the Croatian Institute of Public Health; compliance by operators is checked by the Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance.
One entry covers every operator holding a Croatian concession — online sites, betting shops and slot-machine clubs alike — so you do not have to write to companies one by one, as you did before August 2025. Registration is free.
Periods you can choose
The available exclusion periods are 3 months, 6 months, one year, 3 years, 5 years and permanent. A request to revoke the exclusion cannot be submitted until 3 months have passed from the date the exclusion request was filed, whatever period you chose. In practice the shortest block that can end is three months, so choosing a long period does not lock you in beyond that first review point.
How to file it
You can enter yourself through the state e-Građani platform using verified digital credentials. A request can also be filed on your behalf by a gambling operator, by social care and family protection institutions, by health institutions, and by bodies enforcing court-ordered measures.
During a 90-day adaptation period that ended on 1 November 2025, some requests were temporarily invisible to individual operators. Since 1 November 2025 all submitted requests are visible to every operator, and staff in betting shops and gaming clubs must check the register when they verify a player's identity.
How Croatia's scheme compares with GAMSTOP, Spelpaus and the rest is set out in our guide to self-exclusion by country.
Blocking gambling payments and sites
The register binds operators licensed in Croatia. Sites licensed elsewhere are not connected to it and will keep accepting your deposits, which is why the register works best with a second, technical layer: blocking software on the phone and computer you actually gamble on. Our comparison of apps that block gambling sites on iOS and Android covers what each one can and cannot stop.
Do both on the same day: file the exclusion through e-Građani first (it takes minutes), then install the blocker before the next urge arrives.
If money is already the pressing problem, start with what to do about gambling debt rather than trying to gamble your way out.
Free treatment and counselling
Outpatient help runs through the county public health institutes (zavodi za javno zdravstvo), inside their mental health and addiction prevention services. HZJZ states that no referral (uputnica) is needed for counselling there — you book an appointment by phone or email.
For structured treatment, day hospitals for gambling addiction operate at the Sveti Ivan Psychiatric Clinic, the Vrapče Psychiatric Clinic and the Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Centre in Zagreb. Hospital treatment requires a referral from your GP. Residential therapeutic communities, lasting from several months to three years, are available for people establishing abstinence.
After treatment, clubs of treated gambling addicts (klubovi liječenih ovisnika o kocki, KLOK) run under professional supervision and are used specifically to hold abstinence, not to start it.
Support for family and friends
Relatives can call the HZJZ line on 0800 2000 70 in their own right — you do not need the person who gambles to agree, or even to know. Family group psychotherapy is part of the treatment offered at the psychiatric day hospitals.
Croatian law also lets institutions rather than the individual file an exclusion request: social care and family protection institutions and health institutions can submit one. Family members acting on their own are not on that list. If you are deciding how to raise it at all, read how to help someone with a gambling addiction and the signs to look for.
Gambling law and the regulator
Games of chance are regulated under the Games of Chance Act (Zakon o igrama na sreću) and supervised by the Tax Administration (Porezna uprava) of the Ministry of Finance, which issues approvals for gaming operations.
Online gambling is legal, but only through companies established in Croatia that have been granted the right by a Government decision and have signed a concession agreement; casino and betting operators may run online channels once they meet the technical standards set by the Minister of Finance. Offshore sites without that concession are not licensed here and are outside the register.
The minimum age is 18: the Act allows participation in lottery games only to adults and bars anyone under 18 from entering betting shops and slot-machine clubs. Since May 2025 gambling advertising on the internet, television and radio is banned between 6:00 and 23:00, and influencers are barred outright from promoting or streaming gambling, with fines of €3,980 to €6,630 for an individual.
Frequently asked questions
How do I self-exclude from gambling in Croatia?
File a request in the Registar isključenih igrača through the e-Građani portal using your digital credentials. It is free and covers every operator licensed in Croatia, online and in venues. A gambling operator, or a health or social care institution, can also submit the request for you.
Can I cancel a Croatian self-exclusion early?
Not immediately. A revocation request can only be submitted three months after the exclusion request was filed, regardless of whether you chose six months, five years or permanent exclusion.
Is online gambling legal in Croatia?
Yes, but only for companies based in Croatia that hold a Government-granted concession and meet the Finance Ministry's technical standards. Sites licensed only abroad are not authorised here and are not connected to the national self-exclusion register.
Is gambling addiction treatment free in Croatia?
Counselling at county public health institutes is available without a GP referral — you book directly by phone or email. Day-hospital and inpatient programmes at the Zagreb psychiatric clinics run through the public health system and require a referral from your GP.
Sources
- HZJZ — Registar isključenih igrača (Register of Excluded Players)
- HZJZ — Kockanje: help and treatment
- HZJZ — Useful contacts (national addictions line)
- Porezna uprava — Changes to gambling regulation (NN 72/25)
- Narodne novine 72/2025 — Act amending the Games of Chance Act
- Zakon o igrama na sreću (consolidated text)