Find free gambling support in Ireland
This guide is for you if gambling has started to cost more than you planned, or if you are worried about someone close to you. It lists the free services available in Ireland, what each one actually offers and how to contact them. We checked every phone number and opening time against the services’ own pages and the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland’s help list. You will also find a short procedure for the first few days, and a plain explanation of how self-exclusion works with operators and through the national register.
Free gambling support services in Ireland
Every service below is free at the point of use, and none of them asks you to prove how much you have lost before they talk to you. We took the numbers from the GRAI’s own Get Help page and checked them against each service’s website.
Helplines and counselling
The Gambling Care national helpline, run by the Gambling Awareness Trust, is on 1800 936 725 and answers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From Northern Ireland, Dunlewey Addiction Services takes calls on 08000 886 725, and offers free, confidential counselling to adults affected by gambling on both sides of the border.
Extern Problem Gambling runs a free specialist counselling service for anyone on the island of Ireland, including partners and parents of someone who gambles. You call or text 089 241 5401 and they ring you back, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Treatment is an eight-session CBT programme delivered by video call, or by phone if your broadband is poor.
Gamblers Anonymous Ireland holds free peer meetings, with regional contact numbers listed on its site, including Dublin on 01 872 1133.
The HSE also provides addiction services, and its own advice is to start with your GP if you think you have a gambling problem. That route matters when gambling sits alongside drinking, debt or low mood, because a GP can refer you onwards. If things feel desperate rather than just difficult, the Samaritans answer free on 116 123 at any hour, and you can text HELLO to 50808.
What to do in the first few days
The order below puts the quickest protection first and the longer support after it. You do not need to finish one step before starting the next.
- Step 1
Ring the 24-hour national helpline
Call Gambling Care on 1800 936 725 at any hour. You can talk through what is happening, ask what support exists near you, and get pointed to counselling without giving more detail than you want to. - Step 2
Block yourself at every operator
Log in to each account and set self-exclusion, not just a cooling-off break. Do it for every site you use, because an exclusion at one operator does nothing at another. Close any betting apps afterwards. - Step 3
Book free counselling with Extern
Call or text 089 241 5401 for a call-back, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Extern offers an eight-session CBT programme by video call, or by phone where broadband is poor. - Step 4
Find a Gamblers Anonymous meeting
Check gamblersanonymous.ie for the regional contact nearest you. Meetings are free and peer-led, which suits people who want to hear from others who have stopped rather than from a counsellor. - Step 5
Tell your GP what is happening
The HSE advises talking to your GP if you think you have a gambling problem. A GP can refer you to HSE addiction services and help with sleep, mood or drinking that often travel with gambling. - Step 6
Keep crisis numbers within reach
Save the Samaritans number, 116 123, and the text line 50808 in your phone. Both are free. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or 112.
How self-exclusion works in Ireland
Self-exclusion is the one tool that stops you gambling rather than helping you cope with the urge. There are two kinds in Ireland, and they work differently.
Operator self-exclusion is set inside your account. It covers that one brand only, so if you hold five accounts you need five exclusions. Licensed sites are also required to give you deposit limits and similar tools inside the account.
The National Gambling Exclusion Register is the GRAI’s central list. Once you join, you are excluded from online gambling with every GRAI-licensed operator at once, and it is separate from any scheme an operator runs itself. According to Citizens Information, a licensed operator cannot let you register, take a gambling payment from you or send you promotions while you are on it. A breach is a criminal offence, carrying up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine. Check grai.ie for whether online registration is open yet, because the authority describes the register as something you will be able to join, and we could not confirm a launch.
The register only binds GRAI-licensed operators, so an unlicensed offshore site will not see it.
Extern counselling versus Gamblers Anonymous
These are the two free, ongoing options most people weigh after the first call. The details come from Extern’s and the GRAI’s published pages.
Extern Problem Gambling | Gamblers Anonymous Ireland |
|---|---|
| Free one-to-one counselling | Free group meetings |
| Structured eight-session CBT programme with accredited counsellors | Peer-led support from people who gamble or used to |
| Call-back service, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm | Regional phone contacts across Ireland, including Belfast |
| Counselling for partners and parents too | Focused on the person who gambles |
Help when someone else gambles
You do not need the person who gambles to agree before you get help yourself. Extern has offered free one-to-one counselling to partners, spouses and parents since its service launched in 2016, and the Gambling Care helpline takes calls from family members.
Start by protecting your own money. Separate your accounts from theirs, keep cards and online banking logins to yourself, and check whether any loans or credit are in joint names. Citizens Information can explain your options on 0818 07 4000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm.
Then talk about it at a calm moment, not straight after a loss. Give them the 24-hour number, 1800 936 725, and the Extern line, and leave the next step to them. You cannot block their accounts for them; self-exclusion has to come from the account holder.
Look after yourself as well.
Living with someone else’s gambling often brings stress, debt worries and broken trust, which is why the counselling services treat family members as clients in their own right rather than as helpers. If it is wearing you down, ring the helpline for yourself, or speak to your GP about how you are coping.
Related Terms
Questions about free gambling help in Ireland
Is there a 24-hour gambling helpline in Ireland?
Yes. The Gambling Care national helpline, 1800 936 725, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From Northern Ireland, Dunlewey’s line is 08000 886 725.
Is gambling counselling in Ireland really free?
Extern Problem Gambling provides free specialist counselling to anyone on the island of Ireland. Book by calling or texting 089 241 5401 for a call-back, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Can family members get help too?
Yes. Extern counsels partners, spouses and parents one-to-one, and the Gambling Care helpline takes calls from people worried about someone else’s gambling.
What is the National Gambling Exclusion Register?
It is a central list run by the GRAI. Joining excludes you from online gambling with every GRAI-licensed operator at once, and they cannot take your payments or market to you.
Does self-exclusion at one site cover others?
No. Operator self-exclusion covers that brand only. You need to set it at every site you use, or join the national register, which covers GRAI-licensed operators.
Should I see my GP about gambling?
The HSE recommends it. Your GP can refer you to HSE addiction services and help with mood, sleep or drinking problems that often come with gambling.
More about online casinos
What we see readers skip most often is step two. A helpline call helps with the urge tonight, but an open account with a saved card is still there tomorrow. Excluding at every operator you use, before the counselling starts, removes the easiest way back in.