Support Services for Young People Affected by Gambling: 4 Routes to Free Help in the UK

Young people struggling with gambling harm can access free, confidential support across the UK, and so can the adults who care about them. Transformation Trust has identified four main routes: national helplines that answer immediately, specialist organisations offering face-to-face treatment, digital tools for anonymous guidance, and school-based safeguarding referrals. Each serves a different need, and you can use more than one at the same time.

National Helplines: Immediate Support Any Time of Day

The National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133) is free to call and open every day, around the clock. Trained advisers answer questions, listen without judgement and help you work out what to do next. Calls do not appear on phone bills beyond the number dialled.

GamCare runs the helpline and also offers online chat through its website at gamcare.org.uk. The chat service suits young people who prefer typing to speaking. Both the phone line and the chat are confidential: advisers will not contact anyone else unless there is an immediate safety risk.

You do not need to prepare anything before calling. Advisers ask what is happening, not how much has been lost or how long it has been going on. If the young person is not ready to call themselves, a parent or teacher can call on their behalf to ask what help exists.

Specialist Face-to-Face Treatment

Gordon Moody provides residential treatment programmes and online counselling for people severely affected by gambling harm. The charity works with young adults and can guide families toward appropriate support when the person affected is under eighteen. Contact details are at gordonmoody.org.uk.

Residential treatment means staying at a dedicated centre away from home for several weeks. It includes one-to-one counselling, group sessions with others in recovery, and practical help with managing money and rebuilding routines. This option suits situations where gambling has caused serious debt, damaged relationships or led to thoughts of self-harm.

Online counselling from Gordon Moody runs as scheduled video or phone sessions with a trained therapist. Sessions are booked in advance and follow a structured plan over several weeks. You do not need to attend in person, but you do need a private space to talk.

Self-Exclusion Tools That Block Access

GAMSTOP is a free national scheme that prevents someone from accessing gambling sites licensed in Great Britain. Once registered at gamstop.co.uk, the person cannot open accounts or log in to existing ones at any participating site for a minimum of six months. The block can be set for six months, one year or five years.

Registration takes a few minutes and requires basic identity details: name, address, date of birth and email. GAMSTOP checks these against the records gambling sites hold. When a match is found, access stops immediately. The process is irreversible during the chosen period: you cannot cancel early even if you change your mind.

GAMSTOP covers sites with a UK licence. It does not block unlicensed sites, social media platforms where gambling content appears, or video games with loot boxes. For broader protection, families can combine GAMSTOP with filtering software.

Blocking Software for Devices

Gamban (gamban.com) is paid software installed on phones, tablets and computers. It blocks gambling sites, apps and adverts across all browsers and prevents the software itself from being uninstalled without a password. A subscription covers multiple devices in one household.

BetBlocker (betblocker.org) works the same way but is free. Both tools block access regardless of which country a site operates from, making them more comprehensive than GAMSTOP alone. Parents install the software using a master password the young person does not know.

What to Expect When You First Make Contact

Every support service begins with questions about what is happening now, not a judgement of past behaviour. Advisers and counsellors ask about gambling frequency, money involved, who else knows and whether the young person feels safe. These questions build a picture so the service can match the right help to the situation.

You do not need proof of harm to ask for support. Concerns are enough. If a young person is defensive or denies a problem, a parent or teacher can still contact a helpline for advice on how to raise the subject and what signs to watch for. Many services offer guidance for families separately from the support they give to the person gambling.

Confidentiality has limits. If someone discloses that a child is at immediate risk of harm, or that they plan to harm themselves or someone else, the service must share that information with safeguarding teams or emergency services. Outside those situations, what you say stays private.

School-Based Safeguarding Referrals

Teachers and pastoral staff can refer students to local authority safeguarding teams when gambling harm is suspected. Schools follow the same process used for other welfare concerns: a designated safeguarding lead assesses the situation and decides whether to involve children's services, health teams or the police.

Safeguarding referrals are appropriate when gambling is connected to other risks: debt to dangerous lenders, truancy to gamble during school hours, or signs of emotional distress such as withdrawal from friends or self-harm. The referral triggers an assessment, not an automatic intervention. The outcome depends on what the assessment finds.

Parents are usually informed when a referral is made unless doing so would increase the risk to the child. Schools balance the young person's right to confidentiality with the duty to keep them safe. A student can ask to speak to a teacher in confidence, but the teacher must explain that some information has to be passed on.

Digital Support That Works Anonymously

BeGambleAware publishes self-help guides, budgeting tools and an online quiz at begambleaware.org. These resources are written for adults but work for older teenagers who want information without speaking to anyone. The site does not track individual users or require registration.

The quiz asks about gambling habits and gives personalised feedback. It is not a diagnosis, but it helps clarify whether the behaviour is recreational or harmful. Results stay private and are not stored unless the user chooses to save them.

Young people who are not ready for counselling or phone calls often start here. The guides explain how different tools work—deposit limits, time-outs, reality checks—so someone can make changes on their own before harm deepens.

Steps You Can Take This Week

1. Call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or start a chat at gamcare.org.uk. Write down two questions before you call so nerves do not blank your mind.
2. Register with GAMSTOP if the young person uses gambling sites, or install BetBlocker on devices they access at home. Both work immediately once set up.
3. Tell one other trusted adult—another parent, a school counsellor, a GP—what is happening. Harm grows in secrecy; a second person to check in with reduces isolation.
4. If the young person refuses help, focus on keeping communication open rather than forcing a conversation. Let them know where the helpline details are and that you will listen when they are ready.

How to Choose Between Services

Urgency shapes the choice. When a young person is in crisis—expressing thoughts of suicide, facing threats from lenders or about to lose their home—call the helpline first and ask for an urgent referral. Counselling and residential treatment take weeks to arrange, but helpline advisers can connect you to emergency support the same day.

For less immediate situations, match the intensity of support to the level of harm. A young person gambling occasionally with money they can afford might benefit from self-exclusion tools and a few online guides. Someone gambling daily, hiding the extent of their losses or stealing to fund the habit needs structured counselling or residential care.

Parents and teachers do not have to diagnose the situation before seeking advice. Call the helpline, describe what you have observed and ask what would help. Services are used to guiding people who are uncertain whether they have crossed the line from concern to crisis.

Protecting Younger Children Sharing the Same Devices

Blocking software installed to protect one teenager also prevents younger siblings from stumbling across gambling content or adverts. Parental-control tools such as Net Nanny or Qustodio add another layer by restricting screen time and filtering websites based on age ratings.

Devices used by multiple children need separate user accounts with age-appropriate settings. A shared tablet without individual profiles leaves gaps: one child's unrestricted access exposes everyone. Set up accounts through the device's system settings, not just within individual apps.

Where to Get Help Today

• GamCare: gamcare.org.uk — National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133, free and available every day
• BeGambleAware: begambleaware.org — self-help tools, budgeting guides and information for families
• GAMSTOP: gamstop.co.uk — free national self-exclusion from licensed gambling sites
• Gordon Moody: gordonmoody.org.uk — residential treatment and online counselling
• Gamban: gamban.com — paid blocking software for all devices in a household
• BetBlocker: betblocker.org — free multi-platform blocking software

Gambling is restricted to people aged 18 and over. If someone under that age is gambling, they need support, not punishment. Every organisation listed here works with families and young people without requiring proof of age to access help.

This site provides information for general guidance only. We are not a gambling operator, and we do not organise or offer gambling services. Access is restricted to those aged 18 and over. For free, confidential support with gambling harm, contact BeGambleAware at begambleaware.org.

#Helplines #GAMSTOP

Download PDF: First Steps When a Young Person Needs Gambling Support PDF, 30 KB