If you need a gambling helpline right now, the fastest route is the national line for the country you are in. Some of these lines are free and answered 24 hours a day, every day. Many are not. Across Europe in particular, most national gambling helplines only answer during office hours, and several close at weekends. This directory gives the number, the operator and the exact opening times for 25 countries, each one checked against the operator’s own website on the date at the foot of this page.
We do not list every service. We list the national line that the country’s own regulator or health service points people to. Where no such line exists, we say so plainly instead of offering a substitute.
The lines that answer around the clock
These national services state on their own websites that they are open 24 hours a day, every day. If you are in distress and it is the middle of the night, start here.
| Country | Number | Service |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 0808 8020 133 | National Gambling Helpline (GamCare) |
| Ireland | 1800 936 725 | Gambling Awareness Trust / GamblingCare.ie |
| United States | 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) | National Problem Gambling Helpline (NCPG) |
| Canada (Ontario) | 1-866-531-2600 | ConnexOntario |
| Australia | 1800 858 858 | Gambling Help Online |
| New Zealand | 0800 654 655 | Gambling Helpline |
| Switzerland | 0800 040 080 | SOS Jeu / SOS Spielsucht |
| South Africa | 0800 006 008 | South African Responsible Gambling Foundation |
If your country is not on that list, it does not mean there is no help. It means the phone line has opening hours. Scroll to your country below for the exact times.
What a gambling helpline does, and what it does not do
A gambling helpline is a free phone line staffed by trained advisers. Most are run by charities or by public health bodies, not by gambling companies. The adviser listens, helps you work out what is going on, and points you to services near you.
Here is what a helpline can usually do:
- Talk through what is happening, without judging you.
- Refer you to free counselling or treatment in your area.
- Explain how to block yourself from gambling sites and venues.
- Point you to free, regulated debt advice.
- Support family members, not only the person who gambles.
Here is what it cannot do. A helpline adviser cannot diagnose you. They cannot pay your debts, and they cannot stop a gambling company taking your money. They also cannot remove you from gambling sites on your behalf in most countries, because national blocking schemes need you to register yourself. Our guide to self-exclusion explains how those schemes work.
Calls are confidential. Most lines let you stay anonymous, and you do not have to give your real name.
What happens when you call
People often put off calling because they do not know what to expect. In most countries the call follows a simple shape. The adviser asks what has brought you to call today. You say as much or as little as you want. They ask some questions about your gambling, your money and how you are coping. Then they suggest next steps.
You do not need to have hit a crisis point to call. You do not need to have decided to stop. Many people call because someone else is worried about them, or because they want to know whether what they are doing is normal. That is a fine reason to call.
If you would rather not speak to anyone yet, most of these services also offer live chat or email, and our step-by-step guide to getting help sets out the other routes.
Gambling helplines by country
United Kingdom
The National Gambling Helpline is run by the charity GamCare on 0808 8020 133. GamCare states that advisers are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Live chat and WhatsApp run on the same number and the same hours. The call is free from UK landlines and mobiles.
Commissioning of gambling-harms treatment in England moved to NHS England from 1 April 2026 under the statutory levy. The helpline itself is unchanged.
Ireland
The national line is 1800 936 725, run by the Gambling Awareness Trust. GamblingCare.ie states that the lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From Northern Ireland the number is 08000 886 725. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland points to the same national number on its own get-help page.
One thing to watch. Extern Problem Gambling, which is also widely listed for Ireland, is a call-back service open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on 089 241 5401. It is not a 24-hour line. If it is the middle of the night, use 1800 936 725.
United States
The National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET, which dials as 1-800-697-3738. The National Council on Problem Gambling says the line offers call, text and chat services 24/7/365. You can text the same number.
This number changed recently and many websites are still out of date. NCPG adopted 1-800-MY-RESET on 29 January 2026. In the same announcement it said that existing access points, including 1-800-522-4700, would remain active.
You will also see 1-800-GAMBLER in a great deal of gambling advertising. That number is operated separately by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey. NCPG notes that promotion of the new national number will vary by jurisdiction because of state-level rules. All of these numbers connect you to someone who can help, so if you already have one written down, use it rather than hunting for another.
Canada
Canada has no single national line. Help is organised province by province.
| Province | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 1-866-531-2600 | 24/7, 365 days |
| Quebec | 1 800 461-0140 (Montreal 514 527-0140) | 24 hours, 7 days |
| British Columbia | 1-888-795-6111 | 24/7 |
| Alberta | 1-866-332-2322 | 24/7 (general addiction line) |
ConnexOntario also takes texts on 247247 and offers live chat. Quebec’s line is Jeu: aide et référence, confirmed on its own site and by the Quebec government. British Columbia’s Gambling Support Line is published by the provincial government. Alberta’s number is the Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline, which covers gambling but is not gambling-only.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia’s national service is Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858, free and answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also runs online chat and email counselling.
New Zealand’s Gambling Helpline is 0800 654 655, free and available day or night. You can also text 8006. The service is delivered by Whakarongorau Aotearoa.
Spain and Portugal
In Spain, the national federation of gambling-harm associations, FEJAR, runs a free and anonymous information line on 900 200 225, published on its own site. FEJAR does not publish opening hours, so we cannot tell you when it is staffed. Spain’s gambling regulator, the DGOJ, does not publish a helpline number of its own; it points people to a directory of regional member associations instead. Treat any page that presents a DGOJ switchboard number as a help line with caution.
Portugal has 1414, the SOS Jogador line. The gambling regulator SRIJ publishes it as free, anonymous and confidential, open every working day from 10am to 6pm. It is not open at weekends.
Italy and France
Italy’s national green number for gambling problems is 800 55 88 22, run by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. Its own page states the line is active Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.
France has Joueurs Info Service on 09 74 75 13 13. The service states it is open from 8am to 2am, seven days a week, at the cost of a local call and with no premium charge. The French regulator ANJ points to the same number.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Germany’s federal helpline for gambling addiction is 0800 1 37 27 00, run by the Federal Institute for Public Health, BIÖG, which took over the role previously held by the BZgA. It is free and anonymous, but it is not a 24-hour line. The service states it is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 10pm and Friday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, on 363 days a year, closed on 24 and 31 December.
Austria’s Spielsuchthilfe helpline is (01) 544 13 57. The phone is staffed Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm only, although appointments can be arranged across a wider window. The service is Vienna-based but describes itself as covering the whole of Austria.
Switzerland has one national number, 0800 040 080, free and anonymous. Both the French-language SOS Jeu and the German-language SOS Spielsucht services state that it is reachable 24 hours a day.
Netherlands and Belgium
In the Netherlands, the national gambling information point was called Loket Kansspel and now operates as OpenOverGokken. The Dutch regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit, publishes its number as 0800 2400 022. Neither the regulator nor the service publishes opening hours we could verify, so assume it is not a 24-hour line.
A separate warning for the Netherlands. The national self-exclusion register is reached at cruksregister.nl. A commercially operated lookalike domain exists at a very similar address. Use the register’s own site, which the regulator links to directly, and nothing else.
Belgium’s Gaming Commission points to one national number, 0800 35 777, listed as SOS Gambling, SOS Jeux or SOS Gokken depending on the language. Opening hours are not published. In Flanders, De DrugLijn takes anonymous calls on 078 15 10 20; the service states on its own site that the line is not staffed 24 hours a day. In Brussels and Wallonia the Gaming Commission also lists Le Pélican on 02 502 08 61 and Joueurs Anonymes de Bruxelles on 0475 24 85 68.
Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland
None of the four Nordic national lines is open around the clock, and two of them close at weekends. The hours below are taken from each service’s own homepage.
| Country | Service | Number | Opening hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Stödlinjen | 020-81 91 00 | Mon 9–19, Tue 9–17, Wed 9–17, Thu 11–19, Fri 9–15. Closed public holidays |
| Norway | Hjelpelinjen | 800 800 40 | Weekdays 09:00–18:00. Chat 11:00–15:00 |
| Denmark | StopSpillet | 70 22 28 25 | Mon–Thu 09:00–21:00, Fri 09:00–17:00 |
| Finland | Peluuri | 0800 100 101 | Mon–Fri 12:00–18:00 |
Sources for the table: Stödlinjen, Hjelpelinjen, StopSpillet and Peluuri. Denmark’s StopSpillet is run under the gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden.
South Africa
The toll-free counselling line is 0800 006 008. The South African Responsible Gambling Foundation states on its contact page that it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and also offers WhatsApp on 076 675 0710. The National Gambling Board, the regulator, publishes the same number.
Singapore, India and Japan
Singapore’s National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1800-6-668-668. The National Council on Problem Gambling states it is available daily from 8am to 11pm, with a web chat on the same hours. It is not a 24-hour line.
India has no dedicated gambling helpline. The nearest public route is Tele-MANAS, the national tele-mental-health service, on 14416 or 1800-89-14416. The Directorate General of Health Services describes it as a 24×7 tele-mental health service. It is a general mental health line, not a gambling service. India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 prohibits online money games; it does not create any helpline or treatment route.
Japan also has no single national gambling number. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare directs people to their prefectural Mental Health and Welfare Centre, to public health centres, and to designated addiction treatment institutions. If you are in Japan, search for the Mental Health and Welfare Centre for your prefecture rather than looking for a hotline.
Brazil
Brazil regulated online betting recently and has no dedicated gambling helpline. The Secretariat for Prizes and Betting, within the Ministry of Finance, points people on its responsible gambling page to psychiatric services and to the public health network, and requires licensed operators to run their own customer support. A tele-consultation route for betting-related mental health problems runs through the Meu SUS Digital app rather than a phone line.
For emotional support, CVV on 188 is free and answered 24 hours a day across Brazil. It is a general emotional support and suicide prevention service, not a gambling line, but the volunteers will talk to you.
Countries where no dedicated line exists
It is worth saying clearly which countries do not have a gambling-specific number, because a page that invents one is worse than a page that admits the gap.
- Japan. Help is delivered through prefectural Mental Health and Welfare Centres.
- India. The general mental health line Tele-MANAS is the public route.
- Brazil. Support runs through the public health network and an app-based tele-consultation service.
- Spain. A national charity line exists, but the government publishes no helpline of its own and routes people to regional associations.
- Canada and the United States. Both have working national or provincial routes, but neither runs a single federal gambling line covering the whole country in the way the UK or Australia does.
Why the opening hours matter
Most directories of gambling helplines print the numbers and stop there. That is a real problem. Gambling harm does not keep office hours, and the worst moments often come late at night, after a losing session, when the person is alone.
Of the European services in this directory, only Switzerland’s runs 24 hours a day. Austria’s phone line is staffed for three hours a day on weekdays. Finland’s is open six hours a day. Sweden’s and Denmark’s close at weekends. Someone who is told that help is available, calls at 2am and gets a recorded message has been let down twice.
So check the hours before you need them. If you live somewhere with a limited line, it is worth writing down a second option now, while you are calm.
What to do when the line is closed
If your national gambling helpline is shut and you need to speak to someone tonight, you still have options.
- Use a general crisis line. Most countries have a 24-hour emotional support or suicide prevention line. In the Republic of Ireland and the UK, Samaritans is on 116 123. In Brazil, CVV is on 188.
- Use online chat or email. Several services take messages outside phone hours and reply the next working day.
- Block access first, talk later. Registering with your national self-exclusion scheme or installing blocking software takes minutes and does not require anyone to be awake. Our guide to player protection tools covers what is available.
- Tell one person. Saying it out loud to a friend or family member is often the step that makes the morning phone call possible.
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please contact your local emergency number or a 24-hour crisis line now rather than waiting for a gambling service to open.
Helplines for family and friends
Every national line in this directory takes calls from people worried about someone else. You do not need the gambler’s permission, and you do not need to name them.
This matters more than it might sound. Research summarised by the World Health Organization suggests that each person with a gambling problem affects several other people around them. Partners, children and parents carry a large share of the damage, and they are entitled to support in their own right. If you are the one worrying, the number for your country above is the number for you too. Our article on how gambling addiction develops may also help you make sense of what you are seeing.
If you would rather not phone
Phoning a stranger is hard, and for some people it is the single thing stopping them from getting help. Several of the services in this directory offer a written route instead.
- Live chat. The UK, United States, Australia, Canada (Ontario) and Singapore all run web chat staffed by the same advisers who answer the phone.
- Text message. In the United States you can text 1-800-MY-RESET. In New Zealand you can text 8006. In Ontario you can text CONNEX to 247247.
- WhatsApp. The UK helpline and the South African line both take WhatsApp messages.
- Email and online counselling. Gambling Help Online in Australia and several European services run counselling entirely by email or in structured online programmes.
Chat hours do not always match phone hours. Norway is a clear example: the phone line is open on weekdays from 9am to 6pm, but the chat runs only from 11am to 3pm. Check both before you rely on either.
How to spot an unreliable helpline listing
Searching for a gambling helpline will bring up a great many pages that are not what they appear to be. Some are gambling affiliate sites that publish a help page to look respectable while sending traffic to casinos. Some are private clinics whose “helpline” is a sales line. A few are lookalike domains designed to intercept people searching for an official service.
Four checks will filter out nearly all of them.
- Follow the number to its source. A trustworthy page links to the operator’s own site so you can see the number there. If there is no link, be suspicious.
- Check the domain carefully. Official schemes are usually on a government domain or the charity’s own long-standing address. In the Netherlands, for instance, the self-exclusion register is at cruksregister.nl, and a commercial lookalike sits on a near-identical name.
- Look for a date. Helpline numbers and opening hours change. A page with no review date cannot tell you whether its information is current.
- Watch for gambling links on the same page. A genuine help page does not carry casino offers, bonus codes or sign-up links.
Free national helplines never ask for payment, and they do not ask for your bank details. If a “helpline” asks for a card number before it will talk to you, hang up.
How we checked these numbers
Every number on this page was checked against the helpline operator’s own website, or the national regulator’s or health ministry’s own website, on the date shown at the foot of the page. We did not copy numbers from other directories, from news articles or from other gambling websites.
Where a service does not publish its opening hours, we say so instead of guessing. Where a country has no dedicated gambling line, we say that too. Where we could not confirm a number on a primary source today, we left it out entirely, on the view that a missing number is safer than a wrong one.
Helpline numbers change. If you find an error on this page, please tell us through our corrections policy. We review this directory every three months. You can read more about how we work in our editorial policy and our introduction to responsible gambling.
Last reviewed: 23 September 2026. Sources checked on this date.