Gambling help in Australia is free and confidential. The quickest way in is to phone 1800 858 858, the National Gambling Helpline, or start Gambling Help Online's live chat; both run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A trained counsellor can listen, suggest strategies, give crisis support and refer you to ongoing counselling near you, and helpline calls are not listed on your phone bill.
The same counselling is there for family members and friends, not only for the person who gambles. Separate lines cover debts (the National Debt Helpline, on weekdays) and crises (Lifeline, 13 11 14), and 000 is for immediate danger.
Which gambling help service fits what you need
| What you need | Service | How to reach it | When it is available |
|---|---|---|---|
| To talk to someone now | National Gambling Helpline | 1800 858 858 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| To type instead of talk | Gambling Help Online live chat | gamblinghelponline.org.au | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| An answer that can wait | Gambling Help Online email counselling | Through the website | Send any time; replies on weekdays, usually within 1 business day |
| Encouragement between conversations | Gambling Help Online SMS program | Sign up on the website with your mobile number | Daily messages, around 10 am, 4 pm or both |
| Regular sessions with a counsellor | Ongoing gambling counselling | A referral through the helpline or chat | By appointment: face to face, by phone or by telehealth |
| Help with debts and bills | National Debt Helpline | 1800 007 007 | Weekdays only |
| Crisis support | Lifeline | 13 11 14 | At any hour, day or night |
| Immediate danger | Emergency services | 000 | At any hour |
The gambling services and the debt helpline in the table are free to use. If you want to stop online and phone betting altogether, BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, sits beside these services; how to stop gambling shows how it fits with bank blocks and counselling.
Example: Late on a Saturday night after a losing day, you want to talk, and debts are worrying you too. Call 1800 858 858 or start a chat that night, since both are open at any hour, then call the National Debt Helpline when its phone line opens on Monday morning.
What happens when you call 1800 858 858
The National Gambling Helpline puts you through to a trained gambling counsellor. Gambling Help Online lists what its counsellors provide:
- free, confidential support
- crisis support
- someone who will listen and understand
- information, plus tips and strategies for the goal you set
- referrals to ongoing gambling counselling near you.
You do not need a prepared story or a decision to quit before you dial. "I lost more than I meant to this week" or "I'm worried about my partner's betting" is enough to start. The counsellor can talk it through on the phone or, when you are ready, refer you to a counsellor for regular sessions.
Anyone affected by gambling can call: the person who gambles, their family members and friends, and professionals supporting someone. The Department of Social Services gives the same number as the first call for gambling help.
Live chat, email and text support
Gambling Help Online runs three written channels, and each suits a different moment.
Live chat
The live chat is a typed conversation with a professional counsellor, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Gambling Help Online describes the chat as anonymous, and like the helpline it is free and confidential: you agree to the terms, give some basic information, and the chat window opens. It suits a first step, or a time when you cannot talk out loud. Typed messages can be misread, so ask the counsellor to clarify anything that seems off.
Email counselling
Email suits a question that can wait. Gambling Help Online says trained counsellors monitor emails from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, and usually reply within 1 business day (checked October 2026). An email sent at 7:30 pm on a Friday would usually be answered by the end of Monday, or the next business day if Monday is a public holiday. If you need someone sooner, use the chat or the phone.
Text messages and self-help tools
The SMS program, for people working on their own gambling, sends free motivational messages written by people who understand how hard gambling can be. It runs in a 28-day cycle you can repeat or stop at any time, and you choose mornings (around 10 am), afternoons (around 4 pm) or both. The messages come from an automated system and replies are not read, except a request to unsubscribe, so the program supports the days between conversations rather than reaching a counsellor.
For work on your own, the site also offers a PGSI self-check, a gambling calculator, self-help activities and an online community where people share what helped them.
Ongoing counselling, face to face or by telehealth
When one conversation is not enough, a helpline or chat counsellor can refer you to ongoing gambling counselling: regular sessions with a qualified gambling counsellor, face to face, by phone or by telehealth. Gambling Help Online says these services are free and confidential, run in most metropolitan and country areas, and can be used outside your local area if you prefer. Its Local Support Services pages list services by state and territory.
Because the counselling is free, cost is no reason to wait. Ask what a first session involves, and whether phone or video would suit you better than travelling.
Help in languages other than English
To use the helpline in another language, call 1800 858 858 and ask for an interpreter; a counsellor can organise one. You can also call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 first, and it can arrange an interpreter for the call. The National Relay Service connects callers with a hearing or speech impairment to the helpline.
The Gambling Help Online website has a language menu (checked October 2026) with 14 options besides English: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese in simplified and traditional script, Croatian, Filipino, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Nepali, Spanish and Vietnamese. It also has a page on gambling in culturally diverse communities and one for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Help with gambling debts and money
Betting more will not repair a money problem, and a plan can. Two free routes lead to one:
- The National Debt Helpline, 1800 007 007, gives free and confidential financial counselling. Its phone line runs Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, and by its own listing its live chat runs on weekdays from 9 am to 8 pm (both checked October 2026). Neither runs live at night or on weekends, though a chat message left outside those hours gets a reply later.
- The gambling helpline can refer you to a financial counsellor who works with gambling debt.
Gambling Help Online says a financial counsellor can, among other things:
- look at your whole financial position and the options open to you
- build a budget and a plan for the debts
- deal with banks, credit providers and utility companies on your behalf, including repayment arrangements
- apply for hardship variations on existing loans
- check whether you can get government support, and point you to legal services and emergency relief.
More of this help is planned. The Government's May 2026 reply to the parliamentary report on online gambling harm says its 2 April 2026 package will expand the Financial Counselling for Gambling program. That program gives specialised financial counselling to people in financial hardship from gambling, and the expansion is to double the number of people it supports each year.
Risk: Betting involves risk, and a bet placed to fix a debt usually makes it bigger. Talk to a financial counsellor before you borrow, sign a loan or pay someone else's gambling debts. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Family members and friends can use these services too
The helpline, live chat, email counselling, ongoing counselling and financial counselling are all open to family members and friends. A helpline counsellor can help you support the person who gambles and also look after yourself, and Gambling Help Online's community has a section where family members talk with people in the same position. The National Debt Helpline helps with bills and debts that someone else's betting has left behind. Helping someone with a gambling problem explains how to start that conversation and protect shared money.
Crisis support and your GP
If you feel unsafe or overwhelmed, call Lifeline on 13 11 14; its crisis supporters answer by phone, text and online chat, at any hour of the day or night. Call 000 if anyone is in immediate danger. Your GP can help with the sleep problems, stress and low mood that can come with gambling harm. The responsible gambling tools hub explains the limits and blocks you can set alongside this support.
Myths that stop people asking for help
| What people assume | What is true |
|---|---|
| It is only for people with a serious problem | The helpline supports anyone affected by gambling |
| The call will show up on the phone bill | Calls to 1800 858 858 are not listed on phone bills |
| I will have to give my name | Gambling Help Online describes its chat as anonymous |
| Counselling costs money | The helpline, chat, email and ongoing gambling counselling are free |
| Only the person who gambles can call | Family members and friends can use the helpline, chat and email for their own support |
| The debt line is open all night | The National Debt Helpline runs on weekdays only; the gambling helpline and chat are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| I need to stop before I call | A counsellor offers tips and strategies for the goal you set, which can be cutting back as well as stopping |