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.
HelplineOur 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.
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Free Counselling ServiceOur 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.
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EmpowerHer Recovery NetworkWomen 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.
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Where to start when you want to stop gambling?
Self-Exclusion & Gambling Blocking Tools
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Time ManagementMany 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 AccountabilityThis 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.
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. |
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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. |
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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.