Gambling and mental health

How gambling and mental health affect each other

The relationship between gambling and mental health runs in both directions. Some people start gambling more when they're stressed, anxious, low or lonely, because a game offers a few minutes where nothing else matters. Others find that gambling losses, secrecy and debt bring on anxiety or low mood that wasn't there before.

Often both happen at once, and each feeds the other. A bad week leads to a long session; the session leads to losses; the losses make the next week worse. Recognising that cycle is not a sign of weakness. It's the first step to breaking it.

If you're in immediate danger, or you're thinking about ending your life or harming yourself, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E now. You can also call Samaritans free at any time on 116 123.

This page sits within our safer gambling hub, alongside guides to the tools and services mentioned below.

Gambling as an escape from stress and low mood

Casino apps can feel like a pressure valve. They're always available, they demand just enough attention to crowd out worries, and each spin offers a small moment of hope. On a phone, that escape is never more than a tap away, at any hour.

The trouble is that the relief is short and the costs come later. The worries are still there when the app closes, often joined by new ones about money. If you notice that you gamble mainly when you feel bad, rather than for fun, that's worth paying attention to.

• Gambling to stop thinking about a problem.
• Reaching for the app after an argument or a hard day at work.
• Feeling flat or irritable when you can't gamble.
• Gambling late at night because you can't sleep.
• Using wins to feel better about yourself, or losses to confirm you've failed.

The guide to phone habits and gambling explains how these patterns build on a phone, and notifications and gambling urges offers a plan for the moment an urge hits.

How gambling problems can affect your mental health

When gambling gets out of hand, the effects reach well beyond your bank balance. People describe a wide range of experiences, and no two are the same. Common ones include:

• Anxiety and constant worry, especially about money, debts or being found out.
• Low mood, guilt and shame after losing, sometimes for days afterwards.
• Poor sleep, from late sessions or lying awake thinking about losses.
• Strained relationships, through secrecy, borrowing or arguments about money.
• Difficulty concentrating at work or at home because gambling is always on your mind.

If you already live with a mental health condition, gambling problems can make it harder to manage, and the reverse can also be true. Mentioning gambling to whoever supports your mental health, such as your GP or therapist, helps them see the full picture.

Questions to check how gambling is affecting your wellbeing

These questions aren't a diagnosis. They're prompts to help you look honestly at the role gambling plays in how you feel. Answer them for the last month.

If you answered yes to any of these, it's worth talking to someone. The signs of problem gambling page covers money, time and relationship signs in more detail.

Steps you can take today for gambling and mental health

Small, concrete actions can ease the pressure quickly. You don't need to do all of these at once; pick the one that feels most manageable.

1. Tell one person you trust how you're feeling, or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.
2. Take a time-out from your gambling accounts, or log out and delete the apps from your phone.
3. Switch on a gambling block in your banking app if your bank offers one.
4. If you need a longer break, register with GAMSTOP for 6 months, 1 year or 5 years.
5. Book an appointment with your GP and mention both your mood and your gambling.
6. Write down the times and feelings that come before gambling, so you can plan for them.

Our guides to taking a time-out, GAMSTOP self-exclusion and bank gambling blocks explain each step in full.

Free gambling and mental health support in the UK

Support is free, confidential and available in several forms. You can choose whatever feels easiest to start with, whether that's a phone call, a chat window or a meeting.

GamCare offers live chat and WhatsApp support (opens in a new tab) alongside the phone line. Our pages on the National Gambling Helpline and GamCare explain what happens when you get in touch.

NHS help for gambling and mental health

In England, you can refer yourself to an NHS gambling clinic without seeing a GP first. The best known is the National Problem Gambling Clinic, part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust's National Centre for Behavioural Addictions (opens in a new tab). In Wales, the NHS Wales Helpline on 0808 2819 265 is the starting point.

Your GP can still help, particularly if gambling is tied up with anxiety, depression or sleep problems. It can help to write down a few notes before the appointment: how often you gamble, how it affects your mood and what you'd like to change. Read about NHS gambling clinics for referral and what treatment involves.

What casino apps must do when they see signs of harm

Licensed operators have a duty to look for signs that a customer is being harmed by gambling, from the moment an account opens. Under the Gambling Commission's customer interaction rules (opens in a new tab), those signs include spending, time spent, behaviour, contact from the customer and use of safer gambling tools.

When the signs of harm are strong, the operator has to act quickly, and it must stop sending that customer marketing or letting them take new bonuses. Automated actions need a human review, and customers can challenge automated decisions. If an app contacts you about your gambling, it's worth treating the message as a genuine check-in rather than a nuisance.

Apps also offer tools you can use yourself, including reality checks, deposit limits and time-outs. Our overview of safer gambling tools in casino apps explains what each does, and the customer interaction rules page sets out the operator's duties.

Money worries, debt and gambling

Debt is one of the most common sources of stress linked to gambling, and stress can make gambling feel more tempting. Breaking that loop usually means getting the money side under control first.

• Don't gamble to try to pay off debts. The house edge means losses are likely over time.
• Credit cards can't be used for gambling in Great Britain, and that rule has applied since 14 April 2020.
• A bank gambling block can stop card payments to gambling companies.
• Free debt advice is available from charities such as StepChange (opens in a new tab).

Our guide to budgeting for casino apps explains how to work out what gambling actually costs, and gambling blocks on banking apps shows how to switch a block on.

When someone else's gambling affects your mental health

Gambling harm doesn't only affect the person gambling. Partners, children, parents and friends can carry worry, anger, guilt or money problems of their own. Your wellbeing matters too, whether or not the other person is ready to change.

GamCare's helpline supports people affected by someone else's gambling as well as gamblers themselves. The guide for anyone affected by someone else's gambling and the answer on how to talk to someone about their gambling apps offer practical next steps.

How common gambling problems are in Great Britain

If you're struggling, you're far from alone. In the Gambling Commission's Gambling Survey for Great Britain annual report for 2025 (opens in a new tab), 2.4% of adults had a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of 8 or more, the band used to indicate problem gambling. The Commission notes this figure isn't comparable with older surveys because the method changed.

The same survey found 47% of adults had gambled in the past four weeks, or 27% once people who only played lottery draws are left out. For most of them gambling stays a small part of life. For a minority, it becomes something that harms their health, money and relationships, and support exists precisely because that happens to ordinary people.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.