Get help and support
If you are concerned that a family member or friend's gambling may be causing harm, there is a range of help and support services available for them and for you.
Free 24 hour telephone support
The Gambling Helpline offers free confidential information and support over the phone. They can also help arrange for you to see a counsellor in your area.
National helpline | Hours of operation | |
---|---|---|
Gambling Helpline |
24 hours |
Other telephone support
The following services offer free confidential information and support over the phone.
Helplines | Hours of operation | |
---|---|---|
Māori Gambling Helpline |
Mondays 12pm – 4pm |
|
Pasifika Gambling Helpline |
Tuesdays 5pm - 9pm |
|
Youth Gambling Helpline |
Monday 5pm - 8pm | |
Asian Family Hotline |
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm | |
Gambling Debt Helpline |
Saturday 12pm – 4pm |
Free face-to-face counselling support
Counselling is a great way to get more personal support. It can be a huge relief to chat with someone who is external to your situation.
There are lots of different services that offer free face-to-face counselling support, including Māori, Pacific and Asian services.
The map below shows where these face-to-face counselling support services are available. You can contact these services directly by clicking on the map below to find a service near you. For urgent after hours support, call the Gambling Helpline .
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What to expect from a counselling session?
While counselling can seem a bit daunting, it can be a great way of getting support for you and your family and friends. You may want to attend counselling separately or together. Free confidential counselling is available to people with a gambling problem and those who are concerned about them. It can be really useful to have an independent person to chat to about your problems and concerns.
What happens?
Your first session, which is usually between 1-1 ½ hours, is an opportunity to discuss how you and your counsellor can best work together. You can expect your counsellor to ask you for a bit of background information and you may also be asked to fill out some confidential questionnaires. These give the counsellor a good idea about how things are going for you and what you'd like to achieve through your sessions.
Subsequent sessions are likely to last for around 50 minutes.
How many sessions are typical?
This varies a lot from person to person. You can go along as many times as you need to and can stop any time you choose.
How do you know when it's time to stop having counselling?
Feeling more confident about the concerns that first brought you in is a good indication that you may be ready to stop counselling.
Feedback or questions?
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