By Free, confidential help in New Zealand
Gambling Helpline provides free support 24 hours a day. Call 0800 654 655 or free text 8006. You can talk about your own gambling, concern for someone else or the next step towards local support.
You do not have to know exactly what to say. Starting with “I am spending more than I intended” or “I am worried about someone in my whānau” is enough to begin a conversation. If someone is in immediate danger, call emergency services on 111.
Signs that deserve attention
Useful warning signs include regularly exceeding a planned spending limit, hiding gambling, borrowing to continue, missing bills, feeling unable to stop or returning to recover earlier losses. Thinking about gambling so often that work, sleep or relationships suffer is also a reason to pause and speak with someone.
A recent win does not cancel these signs. Harm can come from the pattern of gambling as well as the final balance. The question is not whether you sometimes win; it is whether gambling is taking more money, time or attention than you want to give it.
Practical steps for taking a break
Close the game or betting app and step away from the device. Avoid making another financial decision while upset about a result. If possible, tell someone you trust that you are taking a break and ask them to help you keep that boundary.
Use the operator’s cooling-off or self-exclusion process where available. Check the duration and whether it applies to one brand or a wider group; do not assume every account is covered. Remove saved payment details, unsubscribe from promotional messages and consider gambling-blocking tools on the devices you use.
Ask your bank what transaction controls it offers and how those controls work. A block can be a useful layer, but it may not cover every payment route. Combining access controls with support is more dependable than relying on one technical setting.
Protect money needed for everyday life
Keep food, housing, transport, bills and debt repayments outside any gambling budget. Do not borrow or use credit to pursue a loss. An unpaid bill will not become easier to manage because a new bet has a possible return attached to it.
If you choose to gamble, decide the maximum affordable loss and session length in advance. A deposit limit controls money entering an account, while a loss limit and time limit address different behaviour. Read how each tool is calculated. Recycled winnings and multiple accounts can make a deposit total an incomplete picture of exposure.
If debt or overdue bills are already involved, ask Gambling Helpline about support options. Seeking help with the practical money problem is a better next step than attempting to solve it with gambling.
When you are concerned about someone else
Choose a calm time to describe specific effects you have noticed, such as missing household money or disrupted sleep. Focus on what is happening and how it affects you. You can seek support for yourself even if the person gambling is not ready to speak with anyone.
Set clear boundaries around shared money and avoid giving access to funds you cannot afford to lose. Support does not require financing more gambling or promising to keep serious harm secret. A trained support service can help you think through a conversation and the practical steps appropriate to your situation.
A few useful answers
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to stop gambling before asking for help?
No. You can ask for support while deciding what change you want to make.
Can I call about someone else’s gambling?
Yes. Gambling Helpline supports people concerned about another person as well as those concerned about their own gambling.
Is self-exclusion automatically shared by every website?
Do not assume so. Check the scope of the specific exclusion process and seek help adding other barriers where needed.