Are you having problems with gambling?

Recognising Gambling Related Harm - a Checklist

Signs to look out for in yourself and others that suggest you might be being harmed by gambling

• Are you finding it hard to concentrate or getting distracted by thinking about or planning to gamble while you are at work or spending time with family and friends?
• Are you withdrawing from social situations and things you enjoy so that you can instead gamble or place a bet?
• Do you find yourself 'chasing losses', where instead of feeling motivated to win money, you are trying to win back the money you have already lost?
• Do you find yourself hiding how much you are spending or the amount of time you spend gambling?
• Do you find yourself gambling even when you don’t want, or when you know you won’t enjoy it?
• Is someone you know showing noticeable changes to their mood?
• Are you or someone you know having trouble sleeping? You might find you are gambling on your phone during the night, or finding it difficult to get to sleep with anxiety or worry?
• Are you noticing financial signs such as money missing from shared bank accounts, or is someone you know often short of money or looking at taking out a loan?
• Have you found that gambling has taken priority or caused you to risk losing a relationship, job, or other important opportunities?
• Have you tried to reduce the time or money you spend on gambling but with limited success?

These signs might help identify if your own or someone else's gambling has become harmful. There is a more detailed questionnaire available on the NHS website (opens in new tab)

Gamble Aware (opens in new tab) have also created a short quiz which takes a few minutes to complete and will start to give an insight into how gambling might be affecting you, or someone you care about. Once complete, you will be provided with tailored support should you want it.

Remember the best way to avoid harm is to stop gambling, and that support is available to help you do that. If you find that you are unable to stop gambling at the moment, here are some tips to reduce your risk of experiencing harm.

• Think about how much gambling is costing you.
• What else could you do with that time? Set time limits to avoid losing track of the time you spend gambling. Plan a different enjoyable activity to do when your time is up.
• What else could you spend that money on? Set affordable money limits for yourself. Use cash to help you keep track of and limit your spending (when it's spent, it's spent).
• Try to walk away from losses. Often chasing losses ends up only losing you more money.