Every guide we publish, newest first. Doctor Gambling is an independent reference site about gambling harm. We explain what the research actually says, what player-protection tools really do, and how to get help. We carry no affiliate links and we do not link to gambling sites.
If you need help now, start here: How to get help for gambling.
Browse by topic
- Fundamentals — what responsible gambling means, the words people get wrong, and how the maths works.
- Gambling Harm — how harm develops, screening tools, and the conditions that travel with it.
- Get Help — helplines, treatment, peer support, and help for families.
- Self-Exclusion — national registers, how to join one, and what they do not cover.
- Player Protection Tools — deposit limits, blocking software, bank blocks and reality checks.
- Data & Research — prevalence figures, what each survey measures, and why they disagree.
- Regulation — the rules in each country and who enforces them.
- Game Risk — why some gambling products cause more harm than others.
- Operators & Standards — what gambling companies publish about player safety, assessed against their own reports.
Latest articles
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How Many People Have a Gambling Problem? Prevalence Explained
Global and national gambling prevalence figures, each with its survey, year, instrument and mode — and why two official British surveys differ by a factor of six.
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Helping a Partner With a Gambling Problem
Practical, evidence-based steps for anyone living with a partner’s gambling problem: protect your own money, get support in your own name, and find free help in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
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Gambling Blocking Software Compared: Gamban, BetBlocker and GamBlock
BetBlocker, Gamban and GamBlock compared on cost, coverage, platforms and how hard each is to remove, plus what the independent testing actually found.
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Self-Exclusion in the United States: Why There Is No National List
There is no national self-exclusion list in the United States. Self-exclusion in the USA runs state by state, and most states keep several separate lists. Here is how ten of the biggest state programs work, and how to close the gaps.
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Gambling Regulators Worldwide: The Complete List by Country
A country-by-country directory of the public bodies that license and police gambling, the law each one works under, and how to check that a gambling licence is real.
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The Most Addictive Gambling Games: Which Products Cause the Most Harm?
Electronic gaming machines, online slots and casino games are linked to the most gambling harm worldwide, with fast sports betting close behind. Here is what regulators, national surveys and product-risk tools actually show.
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Global Gambling Harm in Numbers: The 2026 Data Picture
What the best available data says about gambling worldwide in 2026: 46.2% of adults gamble, 8.7% gamble at some risk, and 1.41% show problematic gambling. Every figure is given with its survey, year, instrument and mode.
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What Is Problem Gambling? PGSI, DSM-5 and ICD-11 Compared
Problem gambling is not a medical diagnosis. This guide explains what a PGSI score really measures, what the DSM-5 and ICD-11 require, and why two British surveys report 2.4% and 0.4%.
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Gambling Helplines by Country: The Global Directory
Verified gambling helpline numbers and exact opening hours for 25 countries, each checked against the operator’s own website. Includes which lines really are open 24 hours.
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Responsible Gambling Tools: The Complete Guide to Every Player Protection Feature
Every responsible gambling tool explained: deposit and loss limits, reality checks, time-outs, self-exclusion registers, blocking software and bank blocks, plus what the evidence says about whether they work.
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Self-Exclusion: The Complete Global Guide
Self exclusion gambling schemes compared across 15 countries: how long each lasts, whether you can cancel, what happens when it expires, and the gaps nobody warns you about.
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How to Get Help for Gambling: A Step-by-Step Guide
Gambling addiction help is free in most countries and you do not need a diagnosis to ask for it. Verified helplines, what happens when you call, and the order to do things in.
How we work
Our guides are written from primary sources: legislation, regulator publications, national statistics agencies and peer-reviewed research. Helpline numbers are checked against the operator’s own site before we publish them. Articles are written by Jose Del Pozo.
Read our editorial policy, how we are funded and kept independent, and our corrections policy. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.