Practical tips for helping them
There are a number of things you can do to help someone cut back on or stop gambling. It's often a good idea to talk with them about what might work best. Remember, you are not alone and there are free and confidential support services available to both of you.
Money management
There are a number of ways you can help someone who gambles to manage their money, depending on whether they would like to cut back or stop. For example:
- Set an amount to spend on gambling each week and withdraw only that amount for them
- Help them manage their money
- Look after their credit and eftpos cards
- Set up automatic payments for bills and give them only what they need for food etc
- Contact the Gambling Debt Helpline on and arrange for the person to talk to a budgeting advisor.
Staying away from venues
It’s a good idea to help someone with a gambling problem to avoid going to the places where they might be tempted to gamble, or to only go to gambling venues with friends and family who are not gambling. If that is too tempting, you may like to help exclude the person from a venue or multiple venues.
Under New Zealand law, a venue can exclude a person with a gambling problem or someone can choose to exclude themselves from a venue or multiple venues. To do this, you need to identify the person to venue staff as having a gambling problem. The venue operator must then, by law, exclude them from the venue. If a person has been excluded from a venue, they, and the venue operator can be fined if they enter the gambling area.
A local counsellor can help support you with the exclusion process. Call the Gambling Helpline for further information.
Block computer access to gambling sites
Software programmes like Safe Eyes, Secure Web, and GamBlock can be installed to block certain sites, restrict access times, and block whole categories of sites. There are also programmes that will monitor and report all activity from a computer.
Take part in other activities together
It can be helpful to substitute someone's gambling with other activities they enjoy. Why not brainstorm things they could do instead of gambling and think about things you might like to do together? For example:
- Go for a walk
- Visit friends
- Do a crossword/sudoku
- Do some volunteer work
- Take a night class or community course.
Order free resources
Go to our resources page to order some free resources to help support you both.