Gambling and debt: where to get help

If gambling has left you with debts, or someone else’s gambling is affecting your money, there is free and confidential help. This guide draws on MoneyHelper, which describes itself as free, impartial guidance backed by government, and on GOV.UK. It covers the warning signs, what to pay first, how your bank and creditors can help, and how to protect a partner or family.

Is gambling causing money problems?

MoneyHelper’s guide to problem gambling and debt (opens in a new tab) says it may be time to get help if you are gambling to make money rather than for fun, for example treating it as an alternative to saving or to borrowing an amount you can afford to repay. The warning signs it lists are:

• using an overdraft or other credit, or borrowing from family or friends, to gamble
• missing debt payments or priority bills, or being unable to afford essentials, because the money has gone on gambling
• gambling to win back money you have lost
• lying to family and friends about gambling.

MoneyHelper notes that many people who seek help thought they had a money problem, but nothing changed until they recognised the gambling problem. Dealing with both matters.

Paying the bills that matter most

MoneyHelper says to pay priority bills first, because missing them has the most serious consequences. They include rent, mortgage and loans secured on your home; Council Tax or Rates; gas and electricity; court fines; child maintenance; TV Licence; Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT; essential hire purchase; and money owed to DWP or HMRC. If you can, pay these on the day you are paid, before there is a chance to gamble the money.

A budget can help you see whether you are gambling within your means. Talk to your creditors: they may agree an affordable payment plan, which helps you avoid missed payments and extra fees, and showing them the steps you are taking to stop gambling may make them more willing to help.

Get free debt advice

MoneyHelper recommends speaking to a trained debt adviser as soon as possible, and telling them the debt comes from gambling so they can tailor their advice. Its debt advice locator lists free, confidential services online, by phone and in person.

If you live in England or Wales, a debt adviser can apply for Breathing Space (opens in a new tab) on your behalf. GOV.UK says it gives up to 60 days in which:

• enforcement action cannot be taken against you
• creditors cannot contact you about the debts it covers
• creditors cannot add interest or charges to those debts.

You still need to keep up your debt repayments. Protection lasts longer if you are receiving mental health crisis treatment: the length of the treatment plus 30 days. It is free to apply, though some debt advisers charge a fee. You cannot use it if you have a debt relief order, an individual voluntary arrangement or an interim order, are an undischarged bankrupt, or have used it in the last 12 months (unless that was for a mental health crisis).

How your bank can help

MoneyHelper encourages you to tell your bank about your situation, and says banks must provide products that are right for you and treat you fairly. Banks can:

• temporarily freeze your card
• change your daily cash machine limit, or switch off cash withdrawals
• offer gambling blocks, or set gambling limits
• stop marketing for credit products.

If you are unhappy with how your bank handles this, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Our GAMSTOP guide explains how bank gambling blocks work alongside self-exclusion.

You cannot use a credit card for online or land-based gambling. MoneyHelper notes you can still use one to buy lottery tickets face to face in shops, and suggests asking your card provider to block those payments too if that is a problem. See our payment methods guide.

Stopping new credit

If you are at risk of borrowing to gamble, MoneyHelper says you can add a note, known as a Notice of Correction, to your credit file asking lenders not to lend to you. Lenders will see it and should take it into account.

You can also make gambling itself harder: self-exclude from every online operator licensed in Great Britain through GAMSTOP, and use blocking software. MoneyHelper also suggests asking your mobile phone or interactive TV provider to limit or block gambling services.

Handing over control for a while

MoneyHelper says handing your finances to someone you trust can help in the short term while you get your gambling under control, as long as you are both comfortable with it. One way is a third-party mandate, which tells your bank or building society it can accept instructions about your money from a named person.

If someone else’s gambling affects you

MoneyHelper lists signs such as being secretive or defensive about money, hiding bank statements and unexplained withdrawals, while noting they can have other causes. Steps it suggests:

• check your credit report to see if you are financially linked, for example through a joint mortgage, tenancy or bank account
• keep your finances separate, and consider closing or removing access to joint accounts. If you share a loan or contract, you are jointly responsible for the repayments
• do not lend money to someone who is struggling with gambling
• use bank gambling blocks on your own cards so they cannot be used to gamble
• set up a property alert to be told of significant activity on your home (HM Land Registry in England and Wales, with separate services in Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• if you receive Universal Credit, ask your work coach about an Alternative Payment Arrangement, so payments can be made to you or split.

Being forced into joint borrowing to fund a partner’s gambling can be economic abuse. Credit taken out in your name without your consent is fraud, and MoneyHelper says there are steps you can take with the lender so you are not responsible for repaying it. See also gambling scams and fraud.

Support for you

The National Gambling Helpline is free and open 24 hours a day on 0808 8020 133 in England and Scotland. In Wales, call the NHS All-Wales Gambling Helpline on 0808 2819 265. GamCare also offers live chat and online forums, including for people affected by someone else’s gambling. MoneyHelper points out that problem gambling can affect your mental health as well as your finances, so it is worth getting support for both. More services are listed on our safer gambling page.