If you are trying to find a problem gambling council in your state, the fastest route to a real person is the National Problem Gambling Helpline on 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), which takes calls, texts and chats 24/7/365. State councils are separate, independent non-profits. Most states have one. But what they do varies a lot, and in many states the council does not answer the helpline at all.
This page explains what these councils are and what they can do for you. It lists the ones we checked at source on 16 October 2026, with the number each one publishes on its own website. It also flags the two traps that catch people out: a directory number that turns out to be an office line, and a state page that looks empty when the state in fact has one of the oldest councils in the country.
What a state problem gambling council actually is
A state council is a charity, not a government body. Most describe themselves as 501(c)(3) non-profits. Their usual work is public awareness, training for counsellors, referral to local services, support for families, and advocacy for funding.
Two things they are not. They are not regulators, so they cannot close your betting accounts, fine an operator or rule on a dispute. And most are not treatment providers. The Arizona Council on Compulsive Gambling says so in plain words on its own site: “We are not in the treatment business.”
Many councils are affiliate members of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). In a press release dated 22 October 2025, NCPG said it then had affiliates in 37 states, having just added the Texas Coalition on Problem Gambling and the Vermont Council on Gaming and Health. NCPG keeps a roster on its state affiliates page, though that list is loaded by JavaScript and does not appear as plain text.
How they are paid for differs sharply from state to state, and it is worth knowing before you call. The New York council says it is funded by the state Office of Addiction Supports and Services. The Delaware council says it is funded by the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. Others depend on donations, and some list lotteries and gambling companies among their contributors. In the same October 2025 release, NCPG said Texas “remains one of just seven states without any dedicated public funding for problem gambling services”. It did not name the seven.
Start with the national helpline
Before you hunt for your state council, it is usually quicker to call the national line. NCPG operates the National Problem Gambling Helpline and says the network behind it “includes contact centers that cover all 50 states and the U.S. territories”.
- Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738).
- Chat online at ncpgambling.org.
- Hours. NCPG says the service runs “24/7/365”.
- Cost. NCPG says no payment or insurance information is required, though carrier data rates may apply to texts.
- Privacy. NCPG says contact is confidential, that your identity is not disclosed without your consent, and that you do not have to give personal details to get resources.
- Language. NCPG says it uses a translation service covering more than 240 languages.
One limit matters. NCPG states that the helpline “is not a crisis hotline designed for emergency services” and says that anyone in crisis should call 911 or 988. If you are in danger right now, use those numbers first.
It routes you by area code, not by where you are
This is the single most useful thing to know about the national line, and almost nobody mentions it. NCPG’s own page says calls “are automatically routed to a network contact center based on the area code of the phone being used”, and warns that “this may result in a caller being routed to a contact center that is not in their current physical location”. It also says the helpline does not use geolocation and that operators cannot track where a caller is.
So if you kept an old cell phone number after moving state, you may reach the wrong state’s contact centre. NCPG says that a caller who wants local resources “may need to disclose their actual location”. The practical move is simple: say which state you are in during your first sentence.
Why there are two national-looking numbers
You will see both 1-800-GAMBLER and 1-800-MY-RESET described as national helplines. They are run by different organisations, and the split is recent.
1-800-GAMBLER belongs to the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ), a private non-profit that says it launched the line in 1983 and uses 1-800-GAMBLER as a registered trademark. In a statement on its own website dated 3 October 2025, CCGNJ said NCPG had operated the helpline under a three-year licensing agreement that expired in May 2025, that CCGNJ offered a new agreement which NCPG did not sign, and that a New Jersey court ruling returned control of the number to CCGNJ. CCGNJ said it would require anyone using the number to sign a memorandum of understanding. That is one party’s account of a legal dispute, so treat it as CCGNJ’s position rather than an agreed set of facts.
NCPG then adopted a new number. Its announcement of 29 January 2026 presented 1-800-MY-RESET as “neutral, non-stigmatizing, and user-defined”, and said it was “now live and operational to receive calls”. That release does not mention 1-800-GAMBLER at all. It does say that existing access points, “including 1-800-522-4700, will remain active”, and it sets no retirement date for the older number. We cover this change in more detail in our guide to gambling help in the United States.
For someone who needs help today, the practical answer is that all three numbers reach someone. Several state councils put 1-800-GAMBLER on their own front pages, including California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Vermont. Others publish their own state line instead. Which number a state requires in gambling advertising is decided state by state, so do not assume the number in an advert is the one your state’s council answers.
How to find a problem gambling council in your state
NCPG runs a Help by State directory with a page for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and US territories. It is the best single starting point. Four caveats apply.
- It is not complete, and says so. Every state page carries the line that the resources “are intended to be a starting point – this is not a complete list of information or services”.
- Some state pages are blank. When we checked on 16 October 2026, NCPG’s pages listed no in-state organisation for New Jersey, Nevada, Washington, Missouri, Utah, Hawaii or Alaska. The pages give no reason.
- A blank page does not mean no council. New Jersey has CCGNJ, which says it has run a helpline since 1983 and works under contract with the New Jersey Department of Human Services. The gap is in the directory, not the state.
- The listed number is often an office line. Several entries show a council’s administrative phone number rather than a helpline. Nobody answers an office line at 2am.
State councils and the numbers they publish
Every organisation and number below was read on that council’s own website on 16 October 2026. The last column repeats only what the site itself claims. Where a council makes no claim about hours or cost, we have left it blank rather than fill it in, because an unstated “24/7” is not a promise you should rely on at 3am.
| State | Organisation | Number it publishes for help | What its own site says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Arizona Council on Compulsive Gambling | 1-800-777-7207 | “Confidential peer support helpline”; no hours stated |
| California | California Council on Problem Gambling | 1-800-GAMBLER | Free and confidential, 24/7/365, 200+ languages |
| Colorado | Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado | 1-800-GAMBLER | No hours or cost stated; 303-955-4682 is its office line |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling | (888) 789-7777; text CTGAMB to 53342 | No hours or cost stated on the page we could read |
| Delaware | Delaware Council on Gambling Problems | 888-850-8888; text 302-438-8888 | “24/7 Confidential Helpline”; the text line is Mon–Fri, 9–5 |
| Florida | Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling | 888-ADMIT-IT | 24/7, confidential and multilingual; free services |
| Illinois | Illinois Council on Problem Gambling | 1-800-GAMBLER; text GAMB to 833234 | No hours or cost stated; sole Illinois NCPG affiliate |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling | 1-877-770-STOP (7867) | Confidential; specialists available 24/7 |
| Maryland | Maryland Council on Problem Gambling | 1-800-GAMBLER | “24 hrs 7 days a week Confidential Hotline”, toll free |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health | 1-800-GAMBLER | “Here 24/7, 365”; calls and messages free and confidential |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling | 1-800-333-HOPE (4673); text HOPE to 53342 | No hours or cost stated; 612-424-8595 is its office line |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling | (888) 777-9696; text msgambler to 53342 | “Confidential. Free. 24/7.”; (601) 853-8351 is its office |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Council on Problem Gambling | 1-833-BET-OVER (1-833-238-6837) | No hours stated; sole Nebraska NCPG affiliate |
| New Jersey | Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey | 1-800-GAMBLER | Free and confidential, available 24 hours a day |
| New York | New York Council on Problem Gambling | State HOPEline 1-877-846-7369; text 467369 | 24/7; the HOPEline is run by the state, not the council |
| Ohio | Problem Gambling Network of Ohio | No helpline published | (614) 750-9899 is an office line; see below |
| Oregon | Oregon Problem Gambling Resource | 1-877-MY-LIMIT (1-877-695-4648) | 24/7; Spanish 1-844-TU-VALES; text 503-713-6000 9–9 Mon–Fri |
| Pennsylvania | Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania | 1-800-GAMBLER | “24/7/365, live assistance”; calls free and confidential |
| Texas | Texas Coalition on Problem Gambling | No number of its own | Refers help-seekers to the national helpline |
| Vermont | Vermont Council on Gaming and Health | 1-800-GAMBLER | No hours or cost stated; no number of its own |
| Virginia | Virginia Council on Problem Gambling | 1-888-532-3500 | “Confidential and toll-free”, available 24/7, call/chat/text |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling | 1-800-GAMBLE-5 (1-800-426-2535); text 850-888-4673 | “Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week” |
Two notes on the table. The Connecticut council’s website would not serve us a readable page, so its help number comes from its own site but its name comes from NCPG’s directory. The Maryland council’s site gives its own name three different ways, including a typo in the page title; we have used the version in its copyright line.
Two more councils appear in NCPG’s directory with a phone number but no website: the Michigan Association on Problem Gambling, listed at 517-672-6904, and the Indiana Council on Problem Gambling, listed at 317-632-1364. We could not verify either number at the organisation’s own source, because NCPG’s directory gives no site for them, so treat both as unconfirmed and use the national helpline for Michigan and Indiana.
Ohio, Texas and Vermont: councils with no helpline of their own
Three of the organisations above do not run a help number, and knowing that saves a wasted call.
The Problem Gambling Network of Ohio publishes no helpline at all. Its only number is a Columbus office line, and it describes its work as training, professional development and outreach. Ohio people seeking help should use the national line or ask PGNO’s office in working hours.
The Texas Coalition on Problem Gambling publishes no phone number of any kind, not even an office one, and points help-seekers to the national helpline. It says NCPG approved it as the Texas affiliate in April 2025.
The Vermont Council on Gaming and Health lists 1-800-GAMBLER and an email address. It has no number of its own and makes no claim about hours.
Oregon: two organisations that are easy to confuse
Oregon has two separate bodies with similar names. The Oregon Council on Problem Gambling does advocacy, research and training. The Oregon Problem Gambling Resource runs the helpline, which its site says was established in 2001.
NCPG’s Oregon entry mixes them up: the link text names the council, while the link itself goes to the helpline service. If you need help in Oregon, the helpline is the one that answers, on 1-877-MY-LIMIT (1-877-695-4648), with a Spanish line on 1-844-TU-VALES (1-844-888-2537) and a text service on 503-713-6000 between 9am and 9pm Monday to Friday.
New York: the council is not the helpline
The New York Council on Problem Gambling sends help-seekers to the state’s HOPEline, run by the Office of Addiction Supports and Services, on 1-877-846-7369 or by texting 467369. The council’s Albany number, 518-867-4084, sits beside its postal address and is an office line. Several directories list it as though it were a helpline.
What a council can and cannot do for you
Councils are most useful for the local knowledge that a national line cannot always supply: which clinics take your insurance, whether your state pays for treatment, which groups meet near you, and what help exists for family members.
Whether treatment is paid for depends entirely on the state. The California council points to a state-funded, no-cost inpatient programme. The Louisiana association says gambling treatment is free for Louisiana residents. The Maryland council notes that the state offers free treatment services. In a state with no dedicated public funding, you may be paying.
What a council cannot do is block you from gambling. Shutting off access is a separate process, run by state regulators and by operators, and the rules differ in every state. Our guide to self-exclusion in the United States explains why there is no single national list and how the state schemes work. Councils also cannot cancel debts, overturn a withheld withdrawal or discipline an operator; those go to the state regulator.
If you are not sure where to begin, our step-by-step guide to getting help sets out the order to do things in. Readers outside the United States should use our global helpline directory instead.
What to expect when you call
People put off calling because they do not know what happens next. On the national line, NCPG says calls are answered by trained staff who give support, information and referrals, and that the kinds of resources offered “will vary depending on the region you are calling from”. It lists what those can include: information about signs and symptoms, referrals to local organisations, therapists, counsellors or support groups, treatment options from counselling through to residential care, guidance on self-exclusion where it is available, financial counselling, and resources for family members.
Three things that may help you pick up the phone:
- You do not need a diagnosis. Nobody will test you or label you. You can call because you are worried, or because of someone else’s gambling.
- You do not need to give your name. NCPG says you are not required to provide personal data to get resources, and that your identity is not disclosed without your consent.
- Family and friends can call too. NCPG says the helpline is open to loved ones, not just to the person gambling.
It is worth knowing that NCPG says calls may be monitored or recorded for quality purposes, and that individual contact centres may use recordings for training according to their own practice. If that matters to you, ask at the start of the call.
If a council rather than a helpline is what you want, remember the office-hours problem. Of the councils above, only a handful publish a number they themselves describe as answered around the clock. The rest are charities with small teams, and a call on a Sunday evening may go to voicemail.
If you cannot reach your state council
Most of these organisations are small, and some have a single member of staff. If nobody picks up, you have other options tonight.
- The national helpline on 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), by call, text or chat.
- Gamblers Anonymous, a peer fellowship with meetings across the country.
- Gam-Anon, for the spouse, family or close friends of someone who gambles.
- GamTalk, a moderated online peer support forum. NCPG lists all three of these on every one of its state pages.
If things feel urgent rather than difficult, NCPG’s own guidance is to call 911 or 988 rather than the gambling helpline. Reaching out early is not an overreaction. You do not have to be in crisis to deserve help, and you do not have to describe yourself as addicted to call any of these numbers.
For background on what the term covers and where it came from, see what responsible gambling means. How this site is paid for, and why that matters for a page like this one, is set out in our funding and independence statement.
Last reviewed: 16 October 2026. Sources checked on this date.