How to tackle gambling debt in Ireland

The first job is not repayment. It is making sure the figure you owe today is the largest it will ever be, because every plan below falls apart if new losses keep arriving.

That means cutting access to money and to gambling sites at the same time. Set a deposit limit of zero where the operator allows it, then request self-exclusion from each site you hold an account with. Under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 the GRAI is setting up a National Gambling Exclusion Register, so one request will cover every Irish-licensed operator once it is running. Until the register is operational, you have to exclude with each operator separately, by email, live chat or the account settings.

Banks help here too.

Most Irish banks and several app-based banks offer a gambling block on debit cards, which declines payments coded as gambling transactions. It is worth switching on even after self-exclusion, since it also catches sites you forgot you had joined. Remove saved cards from every betting account and delete the apps from your phone. If a credit card or overdraft funded the gambling, ask the lender to reduce the limit, and be aware that a request to increase it is usually easier to make than one to cut it, so do it while you are resolved.

People in gambling debt tend to know one number roughly and avoid the rest. Creditors, advisers and the Insolvency Service of Ireland all need the full picture, so building it is the single most useful hour you can spend.

List every debt: credit cards, overdrafts, credit union loans, Buy Now Pay Later balances, moneylenders and money borrowed from family. Note the balance, the monthly payment and whether anything is secured on your home or car. Then write down your net monthly income and your essential costs, such as rent or mortgage, food, heat, transport and childcare.

MABS publishes a tool called My Full Financial Picture for exactly this, and the MABS helpline asks for the same information before an eligibility check.

Prioritise by consequence rather than by size. Arrears on rent, mortgage, energy and anything with a court order come before unsecured cards, because losing your home or supply is worse than a damaged credit record. Under the Central Bank’s consumer rules, regulated lenders are limited in how often they can contact you about arrears, and MABS can explain those protections if the calls are becoming hard to handle.

Once the list exists, the procedure below turns it into a plan.

If an honest budget shows you cannot clear your debts in any reasonable time, Ireland has statutory solutions under the Personal Insolvency Acts, run through the Insolvency Service of Ireland.

Debt Relief Notice

According to Citizens Information, a Debt Relief Notice can write off qualifying unsecured debts of up to €35,000, subject to a three-year supervision period. It is meant for people with very low disposable income, assets totalling €1,500 or less and no prospect of repaying within three years. You can only get one once, and you must apply through an Approved Intermediary, which every MABS service is.

During supervision, you cannot take credit of €650 or more without telling the lender about the notice.

Larger debts

Above the DRN limit, the options are a Debt Settlement Arrangement for unsecured debt, a Personal Insolvency Arrangement where a mortgage is involved, and bankruptcy as the last resort. These are arranged through a Personal Insolvency Practitioner and typically run for several years, with bankruptcy in most cases discharged after around a year subject to payment obligations that can continue beyond it. We have not set out every eligibility rule for these three here, because they depend on the creditors involved and your own circumstances; MABS can tell you which one fits before you spend anything on a practitioner.

Repaying gambling debt takes months or years, and the risk of a relapse is highest when the balance starts to feel manageable again. The protections you set up in week one need to stay in place for the whole period.

Choose the longest self-exclusion period an operator offers rather than the shortest. Once the GRAI’s national register is live, joining it adds a second layer covering every Irish-licensed operator, although it will not reach sites that hold no Irish licence. Keep the bank gambling block switched on, and consider asking a trusted person to hold card details or co-sign large withdrawals.

Watch the marketing too.

The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 bars licensed operators from offering targeted inducements to keep someone gambling, so a deposit match or free bet landing in your inbox after you have excluded is something to report. Under the Act, operators must also give account holders direct access to deposit limits and self-exclusion tools. If an operator ignores an exclusion or keeps sending offers, complain to it in writing first, keep the reply, and raise it with the GRAI if it is not resolved. Above all, keep talking to someone: the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 936 725 is free and answers around the clock.