Our Support Services

Gambling Harms come with many names: Problem Gambling, Gambling Addiction, Gambling Disorder, Compulsive Gambling and Pathological Gambling. Whatever term you want to use - that's okay. Our job at Extern Problem Gambling is to provide help to anyone on the island of Ireland who has been impacted by gambling harms - whether through their own gambling or that of a loved one. You are not alone. Recovery is possible. We see it every day.

Helpline

Our Helpline is a call-back service, available Mon-Fri, 9-5. If you are seeking help for your own gambling or that of a loved one, just call or text 0892415401 (ROI) or 07537 188 575 (NI). We will return your call as soon as possible.

Free Counselling Service

Our free online counselling service is available to anyone on the island of Ireland whose life has been impacted by harmful gambling. This includes people who want help for their own gambling, as well as family members, partners and others. For further details on our counselling service, click here.

EmpowerHer Recovery Network

Women make up 45% of people with gambling problems in Ireland, yet they make up only 10% of the people who access our counselling service to work on their own recovery from addiction. In an effort to increase help-seeking and reduce stigma for women who experience harm from their own gambling, we have developed a new support service, just for women. For more details on how to access the EmpowerHer Recovery Network service, click here.

Problem Gambling Self Help Materials

Check out our Recovery Toolkit Self Help Booklets

Short Version (39 Pages)

Full Version (79 Pages)

Where to start when you want to stop gambling?

Self-Exclusion & Gambling Blocking Tools

If you are an AIB customer, you can block all gambling transactions on your account, by calling
0818 227 056, Mon-Fri, 9-5.
Revolut customers can block online gambling transactions within the app. ATM withdrawals can also be blocked within the app.
If you are living in Northern Ireland, most banks will allow you to block online gambling transactions on your account.
Most online gambling companies have a self-exclusion facility. This blocks you from using the account for a period of time. Some allow for lifetime bans, others for maximum durations as short as 3 months. Make sure to self-exclude for the maximum duration provided.
Blocking software such as Gamban or Bet Blocker should also be installed on all devices that you have access to. These will block access to all gambling websites and apps.
If you live in Northern Ireland, you can sign up for the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme, GamStop.
You can also self-exclude from land-based gambling venues (betting shops, casinos, etc.). This usually involves going into the premises and signing a form. Some operators will want you to bring a photo of yourself or will take your photo for their files. We recommend bringing a friend or family member with you, as these venues are obviously triggering. For Paddy Power shops, a self-exclusion form can be posted in. The form is available for download, here.

Time Management

Many people who seek help for gambling, are spending vast amounts of time, either gambling or preoccupied with gambling related thoughts and activities.

In early recovery, it is extremely important to plan your free time - especially around the times and days when you used to gamble regularly.

Payday is often a big trigger for many people. Likewise, boredom is a common trigger for many people.

Planning your free time goes a long way to reducing urges to gamble. A few minutes of planning every day, or once a week, will go a long way to helping you get into stable recovery.

Financial Accountability

This is easily the most useful tool in the box. Having a trusted person (family member or close friend) monitor your spending, is an essential part of relapse prevention. In the absence of accountability, it is just too easy to talk yourself into gambling again.

Financial monitoring is a challenge for all involved, but it can be made more straightforward by using digital tools such as shared 'pockets' on Revolut. This allows your accountability partner to get a notification every time money from the 'pocket' is spent.

If you have gambling related debts, it is really important to put a realistic repayment plan together. MABS provide an excellent service and we have referred many people to them, over the years, who have found their support invaluable.

How Can Gambling Be Addictive? Check Out This Blog Post and Podcast to Find Out.

Information for Family, Friends
& Helping Professionals

Concerned about your own gambling?

Check out The Problem Gambling Podcast - for inspiring interviews with people in recovery and for discussion of some of the common issues that arise in recovery.

About Extern Problem Gambling

This website is a free resource. Its aim is to provide some independent supports and resources to anyone whose life has been negatively impacted by problem gambling.

Our Mission is to provide a dedicated, independent suite of supports, resources and referral pathways for problem gamblers and their families. We also advocate on behalf of those suffering the consequences of problem gambling and highlight gambling related issues in the media.

Learn More

Problem Gambling Facts

According to the ESRI (2023), there are 130,000 adults in Ireland (1 in 30 of the adult population), who meet the criteria for 'problem gambling'.
According to the ESRI (2023) 45.5% of people with gambling problems, in Ireland, are women.
According to the ESRI (2023), there are an additional 279,000 adults in Ireland who gamble harmfully.
These figures indicate that roughly 1 in in 10 adults in Ireland gamble harmfully or problematically
According to the ESRI (2023), nearly half (46%) of all gambling industry revenue in Ireland comes from people who gamble harmfully or problematically.
The health and social costs of problem gambling appear to exceed government revenue gained from gambling taxes and businesses (Irish Institute of Public Health, 2010).
1 in 5 people with gambling problems attempt suicide - more than double to figure of other addictions (U.S. figures, National Council for Problem Gambling).
With international studies finding that between 6-8 additional people are impacted by a person's gambling problem, that would indicate that there are somewhere between 780,000 and 1,040,000 people affected by another person's problem gambling, in Ireland.
1 in 10 male students at Third Level have a gambling problem. Check out our podcast with the researcher, here.
Half of people who bet through their smartphones become problem gamblers, according to a recent NUIG study.
3 in 4 people in Ireland know at least one person who has a gambling problem, according to this recent survey by the Labour Party.
People who engage in some form of gambling as children, as almost twice as likely to have a gambling problem as an adult, according to a 2024 ESRI study.