Let’s talk gambling
For advice on gambling issues that many people experience – Let’s talk gambling.
Our blog features articles from experts and real experiences from people who have overcome gambling harm.

Discover

Manage gambling urges using this simple trick
Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by the urge to gamble? In those intense moments, it's essential to have a practical tool to help you stay on track and manage that distress.
Read article
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and how can it help you with your gambling?
In this article, we delve into explaining what Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is and how it can assist you in dealing with your gambling struggles.
Read article
Intrusive gambling thoughts and how to manage them
If you’re experiencing intrusive thoughts about gambling, here are some strategies to help you manage these thoughts more effectively.
Read article
Five reasons to try quitting gambling again
What happens if you find it hard to stick with quitting, and go back to gambling? This article details five reasons why you should try again.
Read article
How to manage pay day gambling urges
When struggling with gambling, payday can be difficult. Here are a few strategies that might help to make payday easier to manage.
Read article
5 steps to staying gamble-free
Learn about some strategies to help you stay committed to your recovery, regardless of what challenges you may face.
Read article
The 5 stages of behaviour change
The 5-stage model of behaviour change was developed to better understand how people make the choice to change certain actions. It can be applied when trying to change all sorts of behaviours, including changing one’s relationship with gambling.
Read article
Gambling among women: A hidden issue
Women who have online gambling accounts tend to play more often, for longer, in isolation, and spend more money in total than men.
Read article
The ‘gambling getaway’: An illusion of escape
Gambling can be a way to escape from day-to-day stressors. But, the problems are often still there when we return from our 'getaway’.
Read article
How to regulate your emotions in 4 easy steps
Emotions drive behaviour. In the context of gambling, acting on some of these emotions can be harmful, and cause lapses on the road to recovery.
Read article
Breaking the link between depression and gambling
Research has shown for some time that depression and gambling addiction are linked. This connection is so strong that research has found evidence to suggest that depression is amongst several factors that can lead to gambling addiction.
Read article
Reacting to the recent: mental biases in gambling
It's very common for people to make thinking errors when gambling, and there are many different types of thinking errors that impact decision-making in gambling.
Read article
How to deal with guilt and shame from gambling
When we make mistakes, it’s normal to experience guilt as it drives us to make amends with others and encourages us to make healthier choices moving forward.
Read article
What triggers the urge to gamble?
Do you find that some days are harder to get through compared to others? That some days the urge to gamble might be stronger than others?
Read article
How to support a family member who is struggling with gambling
If you have a family member experiencing difficulties with gambling, you are in a unique position to provide assistance, support and help start recovery.
Read article
7 ways gambling can harm you — and what to do about it
If you are thinking about your gambling and gambling behaviours, an important question to ask yourself is, what is gambling costing me in my life?
Read article
Chasing losses: The goal post that keeps moving
Most of us have had trouble cutting our losses at some point in our lives. We tend to worsen the result for ourselves when we don’t cut our losses at a good time.
Read article
Spotlight on self-exclusion
If you’ve been struggling to manage your gambling, then self-exclusion may be a useful option for you to consider.
Read article
Values: What are they, and why do they matter?
What exactly are values, and why are they important in the context of gambling?
Read article
Embracing mindfulness
Mindfulness is a term you might have heard a bit of recently, but what is it?
Read article
Seeing what we want to see – thinking errors in gambling
In this article, we’ll talk about another common thinking error known as ‘Confirmation Bias’.
Read article
Communication is key – how to have the tough conversations
Like most things in life, struggling with gambling can be made more manageable with the support of friends and family.
Read article
What to expect when seeing a counsellor
If you’ve been contemplating going to see a counsellor to get help for your gambling, then this article is for you. The process of going to see a counsellor can be quite daunting, so let’s talk about what therapy involves and how it can help.
Read article
Gambling and alcohol - A risky combination
Have you ever noticed that your gambling gets out of control when you drink? Or perhaps the reverse - that you drink more when you gamble?
Read article
The science of addiction
University of Melbourne neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath recently talked to us about what happens in our brain when addiction occurs, and how to overcome it.
Read article
The brain’s cue and reward system
University of Melbourne neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath recently talked to us about what happens in our brain when addiction occurs, and how to overcome it.
Read article
Weighing up the risk - When your loved ones stop supporting you
It is essential to consider how your gambling could be affecting your partner or family as ignoring these consequences can lead to greater problems within your relationships.
Read article
Sports betting – can we have one without the other?
In Australia, sports and gambling have become such a synonymous pairing that it has become difficult to imagine one without the other. So how can we experience the joys of our favourite sports whilst being mindful of gambling?
Read article
Strong Brother, Strong Sister, strong futures
Strong Brother, Strong Sister is a First Nations owned, operated and youth-led service for First Nations young people. Its culturally-safe prevention and early intervention approach focuses on living physically and mentally healthy lives, connected to culture and country.
Read article
“Due for a win”: Thinking errors in gambling
It's extremely common for people to make thinking errors when gambling. This is partly because gambling involves probability, and our brains don’t always recognise how complex probability is.
Read article
Urge surfing – Tips on how to manage the urge to gamble
Often, despite all the hard work we’ve put in, we continue to get urges to gamble. The good news is, these urges can be tolerated without having to act on them!
Read article
You’ve had a bust - now what?
Having a gambling bust is often very disappointing, especially when you’ve been working hard to change your relationship with gambling, and embrace more positive behaviours.
Read article
Getting through the festive season
The holidays can bring about mixed emotions for many people including stress, boredom and loneliness. Here are some helpful suggestions for how to manage gambling urges over the break.
Read article
Gambling and the malleable brain
A gambling win activates the brain's pleasure centre. However, when you gamble often, this feeling decreases and you have to gamble more as you chase the same pleasure that once came so easily. But this urge to gamble more can be reversed as explained by neuroplasticity.
Read article
Gambling dreams
Have you ever had a dream (or nightmare) that you were gambling? Or that you wanted to gamble? Or perhaps people around you were gambling, or you were in a familiar venue like a TAB or casino? A dream that felt so real, you woke up and had to check whether or not it happened? If so, you’re not alone.
Read article
Re-making meaning: social connection after gambling harm
Gabriele Byrne drew on her lived experience of playing the pokies to establish social groups supporting those seeking help to quit.
Read article
Gambling blocks on credit and debit cards
Customers of Australian banks have the option to block gambling transactions on their credit and debit accounts. A gambling block on a credit or debit account means the account cannot be used to pay for gambling products or activities.
Read article
Prisoners of shame no more
Profound shame about their gambling and its impact on their family’s reputation is stopping many gamblers in the Australian-Vietnamese community from seeking help - and leading some to jail.
Read article
An insight into Gambling Minds
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Rebecca Hope considers the particular vulnerability of people struggling with gambling harm, mental illness and addiction during COVID-19-related restrictions.
Read article
The long tail of emergency response
People fleeing the 2019-20 bushfires needed food and shelter but also financial support. Mike Kirkness from Latrobe Community Health Service was one of the financial counsellors on the frontline.
Read article
Telehealth in the spotlight
A survey of Gambler’s Help counsellors captures the challenges and successes of the rapid move to telehealth counselling during the early days of COVID-19.
Read article
Connecting with customers is Number One
While venues have closed on and off through the COVID-19 pandemic, venue workers still need to update their qualifications and that’s kept Venue Support Worker Di Grimble very busy.
Read article
Managing urges
Learning to tolerate feeling uncomfortable during an urge is important to maintain change.
Read article
Gambling counsellor, Jodi Clarke
Gambling counsellor Jodi Clarke talks about helping people with gambling problems and their families to work through the issues and recover.
Read article
Self-care: combat stress and resist old habits
Practising self-care during periods of stress or boredom – when you may otherwise slip into old habits, like gambling – can help to reduce anxiety, improve your...
Read article
Bright minds, bright ideas: young Aboriginal people get the facts on gambling harm
A new program is getting young Aboriginal people talking about gambling so they can approach it with a balanced view as they get older.
Read article
Supporting communities to know the risks
After leaving your homeland in traumatic circumstances, the stresses of settling in a new country can be acute. Gambling may seem a way to fit in and offer escape from grief. The Serbian Community Association of Australia is helping people understand the risks.
Read article
Staying positive each day
One of the best and simplest ways to feel positive each day is to think about what you’re grateful for. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly associated...
Read article
Gambler’s Help financial counsellor, Chantelle McGuinness
Gambler’s Help financial counsellor Chantelle McGuinness talks about her rewarding job helping Aboriginal people work their way out of financial hardship caused by gambling.
Read article
How to change a gambling habit
Changing a habit involves recognising the feelings that lead to a specific action, like gambling, and then retraining your brain to respond differently to those feelings.
Read article
Chinese New Year brings a fresh start
Luck plays big part in Chinese culture, especially at Chinese New Year, when revellers gamble to ensure a lucky year ahead rather than to win money. We talk to two organisations working to help Victoria’s Chinese communities avoid gambling harm in the Year of the Pig.
Read article
Making changes: snapshots from a regional Gambler’s Help service
A day in the life of the Gambler’s Help team in Geelong is a day of compassion, advocacy and enthusiasm as they support local community members to avoid, or recover from, gambling harm.
Read article
Cultural nuance is key to preventing gambling harm
PRONIA, the Australian Greek Welfare Society, was one of 12 organisations funded by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation in 2018 to run gambling harm prevention projects in culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Read article
Complex treatment at the crossroads
The Alfred Mental Health and Gambling Harm Program’s clinical assessment team collaborates with services such as Gambler’s Help, offering short-term treatment and assessment of clients struggling with mental health and gambling harm co-morbidity.
Read article
Coming up for air through counselling partnership
A financial and a therapeutic counsellor work in tandem with clients to help them manage their stress while freeing them from the financial quicksand gambling has trapped them in.
Read article
On stigma and how we can tackle it
To launch Gambling Harm Awareness Week 2019, a panel of experts in mental illness, alcohol consumption and gambling harm discussed the challenges of stigma in their fields and effective ways to break it down.
Read article
VCAL lessons for life
When Noah Grech’s VCAL studies reflected what personal experience had taught him, he became so motivated that he believes he’s identified his career direction.
Read article
Lifting the lid on gaming
The popularity of gambling-like products in computer games played by many Australian children comes under the spotlight in new videos released this week.
Read article
Gambler’s Help financial counsellor, Pam Mutton
Gambler’s Help financial counsellor Pam Mutton gets immense satisfaction from helping people with gambling problems pay back their debts and manage their money to stay debt-free from gambling.
Read article
Community educator, David Clark
Community educator David Clark from Incolink talks about the sessions he runs with young apprentices in a program funded by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation to prevent gambling harm in the construction industry.
Read article
Shelter from the storm
By staying open late and offering interesting activities in a warm, safe and welcoming environment, a group of libraries in Melbourne’s north is seeking to turn a common tale of gambling harm on its head.
Read article
Helping young gamblers help themselves
Young men are particularly susceptible to gambling harm. With 95 per cent of building and construction workers being male, industry body Incolink is in a prime position to help young apprentices understand the risks.
Read article
When substance misuse and gambling problems converge
Drug and alcohol treatment services organisation Odyssey House has developed training and resources for help sector workers to use when their clients also have gambling issues.
Read article
‘What difference is another $20,000?’ Recognising financial harm
Keeping track of our spending is something many of us don’t do well. But when gambling is also in the mix, financial harm can fly under the radar. Gambler’s Help clients and counsellors say recognising it early can prevent bigger problems developing.
Read article
Five minutes with Arabic counsellor, Hoda Nahal
While there is no word for counselling in Arabic, Hoda Nahal is helping people from her community open up about gambling problems and recover from what often starts as a taste of ‘Australian culture’.
Read articleCounselling - What's Involved?
Considering getting help for your gambling but not sure what's involved? Gambler's Help counsellor Jake dispels some common fears and explains what to expect in counselling.
There is hope for recovery for people who gamble
In this video, therapeutic counsellor, Cherry Louey dispels some common fears and explains what really happens when you receive counselling through Gambler’s Help.