What is a gambling addiction?
A gambling addiction is when a compulsive urge to gamble takes over, even as it is causing problems in your life. Often starting as a harmless hobby, it can strain your relationships with friends and family and put pressure on your job and finances.
All gambling carries a risk of harm, with some having a greater risk than others. Common types of gambling include lotteries, scratch cards, slot machines, sports betting, card games, dice games, online casino games, and horse and dog racing, though there are many more.
Signs of a gambling addiction can include overspending, neglecting responsibilities, stress, lies and financial troubles. Recognised as an impulse-control disorder, compulsive gambling can involve various types of gambling and often accompanies other challenges.
In the UK, over 400,000 people grapple with a gambling addiction, with more men than women affected. There is growing awareness of the problem as a mental health concern, leading to more people seeking professional help to quit gambling. Overcoming a gambling addiction can be challenging, but comprehensive treatment can help you with a successful recovery.
400,000+ gambling addicts in the UK, with a further 2 million at risk
72% experience financial difficulties due to their gambling addiction
86% of gross online betting profits come from 5% of customers – those already addicted or at serious risk
90% of treatment is accessed outside the NHS
What causes it?
People are drawn into a gambling addiction for various reasons. Some may start gambling in an attempt to solve financial struggles or for the prestige associated with successful gambling. Others enjoy the lively atmosphere of mainstream gambling or simply the thrill of excitement it brings.
Around 96% of people facing gambling problems are also dealing with other issues like substance abuse or poor impulse control, as well as mood and anxiety disorders. People may turn to gambling as a way to cope with stress, depression or other emotional struggles. Major life events, such as divorce, job loss or bereavement, can trigger a gambling addiction or make it worse.
There are parallels between gambling and other addictions, including substances like meth and cocaine. These release dopamine and you build a tolerance over time, leading you to seek more and more to experience the same uplifting feelings. Escaping this challenging cycle can be difficult, particularly for severe addictions rooted in financial difficulties. Even occasional significant wins rarely cover overall losses, leaving most gambling addicts in difficult circumstances.
People who grow up in a family where gambling is common or have a social circle that encourages gambling are at increased risk of developing an addiction.
Historically, men have always been at greater risk of developing a gambling addiction. However, easier access, including online gambling, means more women are now at risk. Men tend to lean towards strategic gambling, while women prefer non-strategic options. Adolescents and young people are also at risk, with early gambling increasing the likelihood of developing a disorder.
What does a gambling addiction look like?
When does gambling become a problem?
Someone’s gambling might have become a problem if they are gambling more often, despite the negative consequences. This might mean spending more time in casinos or with online gambling and betting sites. They could keep increasing the amount they are betting in an attempt to recreate the initial thrill. This might mean greater losses and more gambling to try to recover the losses.
If you’re struggling with your gambling, you could have growing debts as you borrow increasing amounts of money in order to gamble. This can quickly spiral out of control. It might mean you’ve sold possessions to fund your gambling. In general, your behaviour could demonstrate more risk-taking.
You may find yourself regularly thinking about gambling and when you can next gamble. Your overpowering urge to gamble leads to anxiety and an inability to quit. This might mean neglecting work, hobbies and loved ones to gamble more. This could damage your relationships with people you care about and jeopardise your job. You may be lying to people and hiding the true extent of your gambling from friends and family.
How addiction can make someone feel
A gambling addiction can make you feel guilty and ashamed, especially after large losses or if you’ve tried to stop and failed. It can lead to anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts. You may have trouble sleeping due to stress and worry about the financial impact of your gambling. This can also lead to a vicious cycle of gambling more to escape your problems or using additional addictions, like alcohol, as coping mechanisms.
Gambling addiction is often described as a silent affliction. While there are often behavioural changes, it can be difficult for others to understand the full extent of the problem. It mirrors other addictive behaviours involving secrecy, loss of control, financial strain and concerned loved ones.
How it affects people around them
Family and friends need to be observant. Gambling addicts may display increased denial, so awareness is crucial for effective support and intervention. They become withdrawn, spending less time with family and friends, and becoming isolated.
There can be increased tension and conflict within a family due to financial problems, dishonesty, and neglect of family responsibilities. There can also be a loss of trust from people around them due to repeated lies and broken promises. These people often experience their own stress, anxiety, and emotional pain due to the addict’s behaviour.
How can someone recover from a gambling addiction?
Quitting gambling is a tough journey, but with support you can succeed. Acknowledging your addiction can be a difficult step, but is necessary for your treatment and recovery to begin. Although they may be supportive, friends and family might not know how best to assist you. A combination of a solid support group and professional help are crucial for recovery.
Counselling and Therapy
Professional counselling and therapy can help you to gain control, manage stress and heal relationships. It can support you as you seek to change your addictive behaviour in the long term. Therapists have found positive responses to psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioural therapy, which identifies and modifies damaging thoughts and behaviour.
Support Groups
Participation in groups like Gamblers Anonymous can provide you with judgement-free assistance, as well as peer support and accountability.
Specialist Support Services
Charities and specialist support organisations provide relevant, effective support from people who understand gambling addiction. The NHS also runs regional gambling services across England.
Medication
Medications may be used to help reduce cravings. They might also be prescribed if you have any co-occurring mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety.
Find alternative activities
It’s important to create barriers to prevent you relapsing. Developing new hobbies can help to fill the time you previously spent gambling. You can explore passions, gain a wider social circle and cope with stress more healthily.
How can hypnotherapy help?
Overcoming gambling challenges can be a demanding path. Hypnotherapy for gambling addiction explores the unconscious mind, targeting addiction at its core. Its therapeutic approach identifies your individual triggers, like stress, low self-esteem or deep-seated beliefs, and helps you to reshape your behaviours.
Hypnotherapy disrupts the cycle of addiction, building a sense of calm and renewed life, free from addiction. It provides tools to resist your urges, reinforce control and promote lasting change.
A hypnotherapist guides you into a state of deep relaxation and focused attention, often referred to as a trance. This makes the mind more open to suggestions. With hypnosis for gambling, you can be guided towards permanent changes by altering the way you think and react. This enables you to replace addictive cravings with positive behaviours. By guiding you into this deeply relaxed state, hypnosis for gambling also makes use of techniques to reduce your overall stress and anxiety – common triggers for gambling.
Sessions vary, addressing personal triggers and past experiences. Repeated hypnotherapy sessions help to reinforce the positive suggestions and your new behaviours.
Successfully using hypnotherapy for gambling addiction requires a sincere desire for change, otherwise it cannot work. It is often most effective when used alongside other treatments
Our Gambling Addiction Specialists
Benn Baker-Pollard
Sittingbourne
Carmen Harrington
Market Harborough
Caroline Prout
Thrapston
Chris Johannes
Spalding
Claire Noyelle
Maidstone East
Dawn Ibbetson
Chelmsford
Gary Johannes
Peterborough
Jill Whitehouse
Newcastle upon Tyne
Keeley Smith
Southend-on-Sea
Kerry Seymour
Weston-super-Mare
Peter Ely
Islington
Victoria Anderson
Sunderland
Why Choose Inspired To Change
Our solution focused hypnotherapists empower you to better understand your brain, helping to guide you towards solutions and achieve the outcomes you want. We have a team of fully trained hypnotherapists, giving you the choice of who to work with and how you want to work with them. Solution focused hypnotherapy is just as effective in-person or online in the comfort of your own home, so you can find the ideal therapist to help you reach your goals.
Every one of our hypnotherapists is recognised by governing bodies like the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit hypnotherapy professional association. They have all trained with Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training, one of the leading hypnotherapy schools in the UK.
