Gambling should be paid-for entertainment: money you have decided you can afford to lose, spent on something you enjoy. It is never a way to make money, pay bills or win back what you have lost. If it has stopped feeling like that, this page is for you, and the help listed below is free, confidential and available today.
Free help where you live
The help lines below are listed by country. Wherever you are, if you feel you are in danger or thinking about suicide, contact your local emergency number or one of the crisis lines listed here.
Anywhere: Gambling Therapy
Gambling Therapy offers free, confidential support by online chat, 24/7, to anyone affected by gambling, in any country. If your country is not listed below, start there.
Finland: Peluuri
- Peluuri helpline: 0800 100 101. Free, and anonymous if you wish. Open on weekdays from 12:00 to 18:00, with English where possible. Peluuri also offers a chat service, the online Peli poikki programme and financial and debt advice. Details are on peluuri.fi.
- The public-service guide to treatment for problem gambling is on suomi.fi.
Ireland: GamblingCare.ie
| Service | Contact | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GamblingCare.ie National Helpline | 1800 936 725 | Listed by the regulator as a 24-hour line; one GamblingCare page gives 09:00 to 23:00 |
| Family Addiction Support Network | 042 935 5251 | For families affected by gambling harm |
| MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) | 0818 07 2000 | Debt help, Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm |
| Samaritans Ireland | 116 123 | Emotional support, 24/7 |
These services are the ones the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland lists on its help page.
Austria: Glücksspielsucht-Hotline
- Glücksspielsucht-Hotline: 0800 20 5242 (or 01 40 400-2117). The nationwide gambling addiction hotline of the Medical University of Vienna, independent of any gambling operator.
- Spielsuchthilfe: 01 544 13 57. Free, confidential outpatient counselling in Vienna, anonymous on request, for people from all of Austria.
- Anton Proksch Institut, Treffpunkt 1050: 01 880-10-1400.
- TelefonSeelsorge: 142, crisis support around the clock.
The Federal Ministry of Finance keeps a directory of help services by federal state.
Canada: provincial help lines
Every number below was checked on the official provincial or territorial page in October 2026. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 at any time.
| Province or territory | Helpline | Phone | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | Gambling Support BC | 1-888-795-6111 | 24/7 |
| Alberta | Addiction Helpline | 1-866-332-2322 | 24/7 |
| Alberta | Recovery Alberta (mental health and addiction, including gambling) | 211 | 24/7 |
| Saskatchewan | Problem Gambling Help Line | 1-800-306-6789 | 24 hours |
| Manitoba | Manitoba Problem Gambling Helpline | 1-800-463-1554 | 24 hours |
| Quebec | Jeu : aide et référence | 1-800-461-0140 (Montreal 514-527-0140) | 24/7 |
| New Brunswick | Gambling Information Line | 1-800-461-1234 | Free and confidential |
| Nova Scotia | Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line | 1-888-429-8167 | 24/7 |
| Prince Edward Island | PEI Gambling Support Line | 1-855-255-4255 | 24/7 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Gambling Help Line | 811 | 24 hours |
| Yukon | Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services | 1-866-456-3838 (after hours 867-667-8473) | Weekdays 8:00 am to 4:30 pm |
| Northwest Territories | NWT Help Line | 1-800-661-0844 | 24/7 |
| Nunavut | Kamatsiaqtut Nunavut Help Line | 1-800-265-3333 (Iqaluit 867-979-3333) | 24/7 |
Official pages: British Columbia, Alberta, Recovery Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut. The national list of provincial lines is kept by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction at gamblingguidelines.ca.
In Manitoba, the gambling line above is separate from the general Manitoba Addictions Helpline (1-855-662-6605, weekdays). In Nova Scotia, the dedicated gambling support line could not be verified on the official page at the time of writing, so we list the 24/7 crisis line, which can connect you to gambling support.
Legal gambling age
In Finland, Ireland and Austria the minimum age for online gambling is 18, and our international section is for readers aged 18 and over. If the law where you live sets a higher age, that age applies. In Canada the age is set by each province:
Minimum age to gamble online, by province
Most provinces set 19. BonusMadness is for readers aged 19 and over.
- 19 and over
- 18 and over
- Ontario: separate regulated market
Our Canada section is for readers aged 19 and over, the strictest age that applies in Canada. Wherever you are, never share your account or let anyone under the legal age use it.
Set your limits before you play
The simplest protection is a decision made before the first bet, not during a session. Before your first deposit:
- Set a deposit limit for the day, week and month in your casino account settings, at an amount you would be comfortable losing entirely.
- Set a time limit or session reminder, and stop when it goes off.
- Decide your stop point for a session in advance, both for losses and for wins.
- Keep gambling money separate from money for rent, bills and food. Never borrow to gamble.
- Don’t treat a bonus as a reason to deposit more. A bonus you need to chase with extra deposits isn’t value.
Limits at one casino don’t carry over to another. If you play at more than one site, set limits at each.
Warning signs
Any of these is a reason to take a break and talk to someone:
- Spending more money or time than you planned, more than once
- Chasing losses, or depositing again to win back what you lost
- Borrowing money, or using money meant for bills, to gamble
- Hiding how much you gamble from family or friends
- Feeling restless, anxious or irritable when you try to cut down
- Gambling to escape problems or low mood
The numbers show these problems are not rare. In a 2024 Canadian national survey of more than 8,000 people, 32% of adults aged 18 to 29 had gambled online, and almost a quarter of those young online gamblers, 23.5%, reported high levels of gambling-related harm, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
Self-exclusion
Self-exclusion lets you block yourself from gambling for a set period. National or provincial schemes and casino account tools cover different things, and it helps to know which covers what.
Casino account tools cover a single site, and they work in every country. National and provincial schemes generally cover only operators licensed in that country or province, which the casinos listed on this site are not. If you play at one of them, use its own self-exclusion or account closure tool, and set it at every casino where you hold an account.
Finland: from 1 July 2027 a central self-exclusion register will cover every operator holding a licence from the Finnish authorities. Licensed private operators may not start before that date.
Ireland: the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 provides for a National Gambling Exclusion Register, but in November 2026 it is not yet operating.
Austria: the reform bill before parliament in November 2026 proposes a central exclusion register across all licensed operators and game types. It is not law yet.
Canada: provincial programmes cover the provincial lottery corporation’s casinos and websites. In British Columbia, BCLC’s Game Break runs for six months to three years and covers casinos, community gaming centres, bingo halls and PlayNow.com. Quebec’s online self-exclusion on lotoquebec.com runs from 3 months to 5 years. Alberta runs a central self-exclusion platform that every registered iGaming operator in the province must connect to.
Provincial programmes do not reach the offshore-licensed casinos listed on this site. Casinos licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission can also be blocked all at once: the Commission runs a self-exclusion scheme covering every operator it licenses.
Other support
- Gamblers Anonymous: peer support meetings in person, online and by phone, with no dues or fees.
- Gambling Therapy: free online support, wherever you live.
- In Canada: the Responsible Gambling Council, an independent non-profit working on problem gambling prevention for over 40 years, and the 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988, any time.
How BonusMadness handles this
Every page on this site that shows an offer carries an age notice and links to this page, and every review covers the casino’s licence and the tools it offers. We don’t use countdown timers, deadline pressure or claims that a bonus is a way to make money. If you have concerns about something on this site, contact us.